Lauren Wasylson, Duquesne and Mars basketball grad, to pursue ‘dream’ in Serbia after health scare
Lauren Wasylson is giving basketball another shot. Or perhaps it’s giving her another shot.
The 25-year-old, who starred at Mars High School and scored four points when the Planets won their only PIAA championship before graduating in 2018, thought she might have played her final game at Duquesne on March 28 in the second round of the NCAA Women’s National Invitational Tournament, a 71-50 loss to Purdue in which she scored zero points and had just one rebound and one assist.
Nearly eight months later, she’s about to step back on the court — for ZKK Spartak Subotica of the First Women’s Basketball League of Serbia.
Wasylson flew out Wednesday from Pittsburgh and was expected to land Thursday in Serbia. She is expected to join the team Friday for two-a-day practices, and her first game could be Jan. 11 when Spartak (3-8) begins the second half of the season.
“Just pursuing my dream of being a professional. To overcome all the adversity I did just to ... get here, is really important to me.”
Wasylson almost didn’t get here.
In August 2023, she was struggling to run sprints during a preseason practice at Duquesne. A teammate told her to get checked out, and then she noticed pain in her calf a day or two later. She was rushed to the hospital, where a blood clot in her calf and two more in her lungs were discovered.
A nurse told her if she had run one more sprint, she may have died of a stroke on the court.
Wasylson said doctors believe the clots formed because of extensive travel as a collegiate athlete. She was put on blood thinners and rehabbed before rejoining the Dukes in January 2024. The guard played the final 21 games, averaging 4.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists a game.
She had some interest from agents and teams overseas to play after graduating, but she didn’t feel ready despite a clean bill of health. So Wasylson graduated with a Master’s degree in the spring and took a marketing position for a few months.
But by the fall she was training again with a personal trainer and her former Dukes teammates, while also teaching basketball to young girls. The basketball itch returned. A former teammate, Andjela Matic, currently a junior guard at Duquesne, was born in Serbia and reached out to some contacts.
“I would do anything for basketball,” Wasylson said.
Wasylson, who also overcame a torn ACL in 2021, was offered a contract by Spartak in the middle of its season Dec. 24, agreed Christmas Day and flies out this week.
“I’ve never been in this situation before, so it’s gonna be very eye-opening,” Wasylson said. “I think it’s very beneficial for me.”
Spartak competes in the top Serbian league and faces EuroCup teams, some of the best in Europe. Wasylson knows she has to put up good numbers as an American guard — most European clubs are only allowed to roster two Americans at a time — in just three months to earn a second contract with Spartak or another club. But she’s embracing the challenge.
“You never know when it’s gonna end,” Wasylson said. “Obviously, I’m very nervous to go into a different country and different environment by myself, but (not many people) get this opportunity.”
Spartak, which has been on break since Dec. 21, plays nine more games this season and is 10th out of 12 teams in the standings. The final game of the regular season is March 22.
