Houlton senior sidelined for remainder of season

She started around her defender on the baseline, and she went to jump back when her foot slipped a bit. Houlton senior Katie Condon eased herself down to the floor in excruciating pain in the first few minutes of last Saturday’s game in MDI.

“My knee buckled,” she said. “It was instant pain.”

Condon is waiting for an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) date to find out the scope of her knee injury. But in the meantime, she was examined at County Physical Therapy with the findings being a complete ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear.

The senior will be out for the remainder of the season.

“We are not sure about the MCL (medial collateral ligament) ,” said Condon. “Now, it is rehab and most likely surgery.”

“Katie’s injury drastically affects the team,” said Houlton coach Shawn Graham. “She could be counted on each night for 10 to 15 points and seven to 10 rebounds. She played a huge role on our press breaks because even though she is considered a post player, she has ball handling capabilities of a guard.

“It also hurts us when opponents run half court traps and zone defenses,” Graham added. “Katie is a player that can work the middle of the floor extremely well. She draws a lot of attention and therefore frees her teammates up. She is also a great finisher around the basket and a nice inside/outside player with a very good jump shot. Our interior offense will have to be adjusted and we will certainly miss her strength on the glass.”

With Condon awaiting the outcome of her knee injury, she will be replaced in the lineup by Aspen Flewelling, with Kristen Graham now becoming the sixth man for the Lady Shires.

“Those two will no longer play minutes during the jv game,” Graham explained. “It is very tough shoes to fill, so we’ll look to work a little harder and do the best we can.”

Condon said she definitely wants to continue to play sports, as she had plans of playing collegiately. But, if that is not the case, she still wants to participate, even if not competitively.

“It is devastating to know that I played my last Houlton High School basketball game of my career,” she said. “It was going to happen. It just came sooner than expected.”

Condon will remain an intricate part of the team.

“I will be beside them in every game and practice,” she said, “just like I would have been normally. It is going to be hard just watching, but it’s something I am going to have to deal with.”