Katherine Washington was already almost 25 years old when she first put on a Flying Queen uniform.  Following her graduation from Murfreesboro (TN) Central High School in 1952, she attended Martin Junior College where she was team captain and Most Valuable Player of the women's basketball team.  In 1953, she earned MVP honors as a member of an AAU All-Star team that captured first place at the World's Basketball Tourney in Santiago, Chile.  Washington then worked as an elementary teacher for one year before taking her basketball talents to Nashville Business College where she played and worked from 1955-57.   In 1957, she was again a member of the U.S. team that participated in the Basketball World Tourney, this time in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

When she finally arrived on the Wayland campus in January of 1958, Washington made an immediate impact.  A three-time AAU All-American as a Flying Queen (she received six All-American designations in all), she was known as "a defensive spark plug" who could also score.  In fact, she was second on the team in scoring during her senior season.

Washington was a gold medal winner on the U.S. team at the 1959 Pan Am Games held in Chicago, and was a member of the U.S. women's team that toured Russia in 1958 and that played against the Russian team on tour in the U.S. in 1960.

After graduating from Wayland with a Bachelor of Science degree, Washington taught for over 25 years at Midland High School and for the Pearland and Alvin Independent School Districts.  In 1968, she was a member of the All-American Fast Pitch Softball team, and was inducted into the Martin Methodist College's Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.

In June 2000, Washington received the ultimate honor when she was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, TN.