The road to a state basketball championship is often littered with obstacles great and small. A shot that swirls the rim before settling into the net, a clutch rebound or the ability to withstand a bothersome injury to a key player.
Wall and forward Loni Humphrey, headed to the girls Class B state championship for the first time since 1994, know all about big dreams, big accomplishments and the precariousness of it all.
In January, Humphrey went down with an injury to her lateral collateral ligament, a reoccurrence of an injury suffered the previous year.
“In the Bennett County game, I sprained the same knee really bad,” said the
5-foot- 10 senior who is averaging 8.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. “So I took about a week off before practicing again. Then, I bruised my meniscus in the same knee. The doctor said that since I haven’t torn anything, surgery isn’t necessary at this time, I would just have to wear a brace.
“When I came back, I wasn’t able to play too much at a time, maybe a quarter here and there, but I’ve slowly been able to increase my playing time.”
The injury to Humphrey, who along with senior post player Katrina Kjerstad and all-purpose junior Madison McLaughlin constitute what Eagles head coach John Hess call his “big three,” has led to some anxious moments.
In the Eagles big win over then No. 1-ranked Newell, Humphrey crumbled to the floor early in the game and had to be helped off.
“That definitely took my breath away,” Hess said. “But Loni is a tough ranch girl who is going to rough it through if at all possible. She walked it off and came back and helped us win.”
While Humphrey’s spot duty has contributed to the Eagles depth development according to Ness, her absence on the floor hampers the team’s flexibility.
“Some young girls, such as Autumn Shultz, a ninth- grader, and Kysta Kjerstad, have done a good job for us and given me confidence that they can be called on if needed,” he said. “But Loni is our blue-collar worker, willing to do whatever is necessary to make us a better basketball team, and when she is not in there other teams notice and take advantage.”
Humphrey or not, the road doesn’t get an easier as Wall (20-3 overall) will meet defending champion Summit (20-3) in its Thursday afternoon first-round game. No. 1-seeded Newell, with whom they split two regular season games, awaits in the semifinals.
“Summit upset an undefeated and top-ranked Ipswich team to qualify for state,” Hess said. “As defending state champions, they have a lot of experience, and Alex Kneeland, a junior, is averaging just under 30 points per game, so they definitely will be a challenge.”
