Delaney: Helmer tough act to follow
As badly as I felt physically at the Little Falls-Tully girls basketball game Saturday, I suspect Sara Helmer felt worse.
The Little Falls senior was limited to four points in one quarter of action because of shin splints. Despite Helmer's absence, she is one of the more experienced players on the team, Little Falls defeated Tully 58-38 in the Section III Class C-1 semifinal. Little Falls advanced to Wednesday's C-1 final against old rival Cooperstown. The teams will play at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday at Rome Free Academy in a rematch of last season's title game won by Cooperstown.
On Saturday, sitting in the stands at Clinton High School feeling somewhat sorry for myself I noticed Helmer limping through warm-ups. I developed a non-stop cough Thursday, and by Saturday afternoon the muscles in my rib cage exploded from each subsequent hacking sound. I was glad to be at the game - I didn't leave the house Friday because of the cough, despite Section III playoffs being a busy time of year - but I wasn't comfortable.
One look at Helmer and I saw I wasn't the only one. Little Falls coach Pam Munger said Helmer has been bothered by shin splints for a while. The coach and player had a pre-game conversation to guage Helmer's pain level, and the athlete was honest about her intentions, depending on how the game went. Helmer started but she didn't last long.
"She said you'll have to take me out and put (freshman) Jordan Mitchell in," Munger said. "She wanted to get to the next game. She wanted to be in but she knew she couldn't be a part (of the game)."
The Little Falls senior was limited to four points in one quarter of action because of shin splints. Despite Helmer's absence, she is one of the more experienced players on the team, Little Falls defeated Tully 58-38 in the Section III Class C-1 semifinal. Little Falls advanced to Wednesday's C-1 final against old rival Cooperstown. The teams will play at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday at Rome Free Academy in a rematch of last season's title game won by Cooperstown.
On Saturday, sitting in the stands at Clinton High School feeling somewhat sorry for myself I noticed Helmer limping through warm-ups. I developed a non-stop cough Thursday, and by Saturday afternoon the muscles in my rib cage exploded from each subsequent hacking sound. I was glad to be at the game - I didn't leave the house Friday because of the cough, despite Section III playoffs being a busy time of year - but I wasn't comfortable.
One look at Helmer and I saw I wasn't the only one. Little Falls coach Pam Munger said Helmer has been bothered by shin splints for a while. The coach and player had a pre-game conversation to guage Helmer's pain level, and the athlete was honest about her intentions, depending on how the game went. Helmer started but she didn't last long.
"She said you'll have to take me out and put (freshman) Jordan Mitchell in," Munger said. "She wanted to get to the next game. She wanted to be in but she knew she couldn't be a part (of the game)."
posted by Anne Delaney at
8:15 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home