Warrenton senior forward Amanda Lafaver sat in tears last week at the end of the bench. After missing over a month with a torn ligament in her elbow, she checked into the second half of Warrenton’s …
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Warrenton senior forward Amanda Lafaver sat in tears last week at the end of the bench.
After missing over a month with a torn ligament in her elbow, she checked into the second half of Warrenton’s 45-23 loss at St. Charles, but didn’t stay on the court long.
Head Coach Greg Williams wasn’t sure if he wanted to bring her into a game that physical, but he knew the clock was ticking on his team’s season and wanted to see what Lafaver could do before Warrenton begins its single-elimination quest for a deep postseason run.
Williams knows as well as anyone how valuable Lafaver can be in the postseason.
“Last year, the district championship game was an absolute dogfight with Amanda and Kirksville’s post player (Sarah Lamp),” Williams said. “I thought she had tattoos on her arms because of all the bruises on her upper body. It was a fun matchup to watch.”
Lafaver got the best of the matchup and Warrenton advanced with a 40-38 win.
But since her injury Jan. 15, Lafaver’s availability in the postseason has been unknown.
Sunday, she practiced without a brace for the first time since the setback.
“It felt pretty good,” she said. “No tears, so that’s good. I felt free because I was able to bend it, but my arm still felt weird, though.”
Lafaver, the only senior for Warrenton, is averaging 3.4 points and 2.4 rebounds this season.
Her leadership, however, has been her biggest strength on a team that has four sophomores in the rotation.
“She’s been a great leader for this team all year,” sophomore forward Kayla Nelson said recently.
Williams said Lafaver has begun to get her freedom of movement back.
Lafaver said she is still working on what Williams called her “broken elbow shot,” and she expects to be ready to go Thursday night in Hannibal in the district semifinals.
The possibility of re-injuring her elbow is always in the back of her mind, but she doesn’t think it will effect her performance in the postseason.
“I’m going to push it and if it happens, it’s unfortunate,” she said. “But I’m going to give it 100 percent.”
If Warrenton and Kirksville — the top seeds in the bracket — win their semifinal games, Lafaver and Lamp would meet again with another district championship on the line.
“She’ll be on it,” Williams said. “We’ve been praying that she’ll be 100 percent and we think she will.”
Injured elbow Jan. 15 against DuchesneWAITING GAME — Amanda Lafaver waits for a rebound against Duchesne Jan. 15. Lafaver tore a ligament in her elbow during the game and missed a month of action. Kory Carpenter photo.
