Following graduation from UBC, McDermott continued to support its program and aided players through the Millennium Breakfast and Ruth Wilson Memorial Scholarship programs. She joined the Vancouver Eilers in 1950 and led the team to its maiden Dominion title that same year. Overall McDermott won the title a record nine times in a row during the 1950s, and claimed the 1955 British Columbia Championship. She played for Canada three times at the Pan American Games: in 1955 in Mexico City as part of the first Canadian women's side to play internationally; in 1959 in Chicago and in 1963 in São Paulo. For the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, McDermott managed the women's basketball team that claimed the bronze medal. She also played volleyball, winning the 1962 and 1964 Canadian club championships with the Vancouver Alums side.
