WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — Gretchen Dolan grew up on the Williamsville South basketball court.

“I just remember every day after elementary school, like kindergarten, I would just come up here after school, me and Hannah my sister, would literally just come up here and sit on a ball and watch,” Dolan said.

The Dolan’s have been the standard for the best of Billies basketball.

It starts at the top, with mom Kristen the head coach of the girls team, leading them to a state championship in 2016. 

Graham is the oldest and was a two-time captain at Will South before playing collegiately at UB and then Babson.

Greg is next and was the New York State Class A Player of the Year in 2018, leaving with school records in points, rebounds, and steals. He is currently in the midst of his senior season at Cornell.

Hannah is third in line, eclipsing over 1,000 career points for the Billies and is currently part of the Canisius women’s basketball team.

So as you can see, that is quite an act to follow for the youngest Gretchen.

“I wouldn’t say it was hard,” Dolan said. “I never really tried to think of it like that. Oh, I have to live up to this or I have to be this type of person. The four of us are all different players, different people. So I think we just let it all come naturally and we all shaped into the player that we are. So I think I let it come like that and that’s how it is.”

That mindset has worked out quite well, with the youngest now above all three of her older siblings, recently becoming Will South’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing the previous mark of 2,144 points set in 2021 by former teammate and current UConn forward Amari DeBerry.

“It’s kind of funny,” Dolan said with a smile. “There are some jokes that go around the house and we’ve talked about it a little bit. Just kind of laugh about it. But I wouldn’t be here without the three of my siblings. They’ve all played major roles in my development on and off the court. So I wouldn’t be in this position without them.”

The last sibling Gretchen passed was Greg, who still holds the boys all-time scoring record with 2,019 points.

“It got brought up and I was like yeah, I’m going to break your record in a few games,” Dolan recalled. “It wasn’t talked about that much. He just congratulated me after it happened. We were just laughing about it when it got brought up. But all fun and games.”

Gretchen’s now over 2,200 points and counting as Will South is 17-1 and ranked 3rd in the state in Class A.

She is once again following in her sibling’s footsteps, rounding out the group as the fourth to play collegiately at the Division I level, heading to Illinois in the fall.

As for her legacy at Will South, Gretchen hopes it is actually beyond the stat sheet.

“For what I want people to remember is just the way I interact with people and the type of teammate I was is something that’s really big for me,” Dolan said.

While Gretchen Dolan remembers where it all began for her and Williamsville South basketball.

Just a kid watching others do what she would ultimately become the best at.