Not much is more disappointing for an athlete than suffering an early, season-ending injury, and Hamilton High School West girls’ basketball player Courtney Adams learned that the hard way at the beginning of last year.
She broke her wrist four and a half games into her junior campaign and was out six weeks, returning to the court with just two games left in the season.
She was more than ready to get back with her Hornet teammates this year.
“It was kind of devastating, honestly,” she said. “It was really early in the season. We were just getting into everything. I was really excited for that season, and then that just happened, and I couldn’t play. I missed out on a lot of stuff. It was kind of hard to deal with.”
But she dealt with it, and head coach Erin Wolverton said it “shows a lot about the type of player she is.”
“It shows a lot about her character and the type of person she is that she can get through that injury, rehab herself, and have such a successful season,” she said.
The Susquehanna University-bound Adams did play AAU over the summer, so she didn’t spend too much time off of the court, but high school ball is a different landscape, she said.
“I definitely was ready since I missed a whole season last year,” she said. “I was really excited to get back out there. I was used to playing again, but to play in high school, it’s a different game.”
She certainly came out with fervor. She leads the team in points (282) and rebounds (191), averaging a double double. Wolverton calls her one of the squad’s greatest assets.
“She’s a major contributor to this team,” she said. “She’s having an excellent senior season. Not only does she offensively give us a big boost, but she finds the other players. She’s an all-around player on both sides of the floor.”
Adams said her desire for team success outweighs the need for individual prosperity.
“I want to win more than I want to score points, so when I see somebody else open, I just give up the ball,” she said. “You work it around for your best option, not for yourself.”
Wolverton said Adams’s unselfishness is invaluable to the 9-10 Hornets, who went 6-17 last year in her absence.
“It’s huge,” she said. “That’s why I think we’re seeing the success we are. We are playing team defense and offense. I think she’s a big factor in that. She definitely leads us and sets the example, and the other girls feed off of that.”
At 6-2, Adams is West’s tallest player, and Wolverton said she definitely uses her height to her advantage.
“She definitely goes down low, and she rebounds for us,” she said. “She matches up with a lot of the other CVC teams and with their big girls as well. She definitely has to battle, and she definitely has to work hard, but it is a positive point.”
As of Feb. 17, the Hornets had a shot at the CVC Valley Division title, which Wolverton said would only add to Adams’s legacy.
“She definitely had an impact,” she said. “As a four-year varsity player, you always want to make sure when you’re finished that you do leave behind a couple of conference titles and the scoring. She will leave her mark.”
There is one thing Adams said she wishes had turned out differently, though.
“There’s nothing else really,” she said. “I probably would have scored my 1,000th point if I didn’t get hurt last year. I’m like 200 away. That would have been the difference, but I’m really happy with everything.”
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