HOLMEN — There is never a good time for an injury, but a mishap during a Jan. 26 practice stopped Onalaska High School sophomore Kayla Ketelhut when she was in a serious rhythm with a couple of huge games on the horizon.
Ketelhut was going for a reverse layup during that practice when she landed on a teammate’s foot. She is a tough kid, but a high sprain to her right ankle was going to stop Ketelhut in her tracks after averaging 24.6 points over her previous seven games.
“We had a big stretch coming up with Aquinas and Central back-to-back,” Onalaska coach Tom Cowley said. “It hurt us in those games to not have that good second option as a ball handler, and when we lost Natalie Marso against Central with a concussion, we desperately needed some scoring.”
Ketelhut, who was in a walking boot for a week before rehab and icing took over, made her return after a three-game absence in Thursday’s 42-28 victory over Holmen. The Hilltoppers beat Logan and lost to both the Blugolds and RiverHawks without her, but the rivalry game with the Vikings was a chance for everyone to get back on track.
“On the weekend (after the injury), I feel like I had my foot in an ice bucket the whole day,” Ketelhut said. “But it was ice, then heat. Ice, then heat. I was just trying to get mobility back.
“And then the next week, our trainer gave me some good exercises to strengthen it.”
This week, she was able to start some light running and moving from side to side until it felt comfortable to take the court and play. Tuesday didn’t go well, but Wednesday was better.
She received clearance to play against Holmen and didn’t play quite as many minutes as she typically does. Ketelhut didn’t start the beginning of the game or the second half, but she received enough time to find a flow.
Ketelhut said she hardly noticed the injury while scoring 16 points and starting the path to regaining her rhythm she had before the injury.
The 5-foot-9 guard didn’t force her return and allowed the action to come to her. A runner from the baseline here and a bank on a centered attack on the basket there quickly showed the form everyone on the court knew, and Onalaska was a contender again.
The Hilltoppers (15-6, 6-4 MVC) are in third place in the conference standings and will probably stay there.
Onalaska has remaining MVC games against Tomah (Friday) and Sparta (Tuesday) and should win both of those games. Second-place Central (16-5, 8-2) needs to beat Logan (Tuesday) or Aquinas (Thursday) to keep the Hilltoppers out of a second-place tie and swept them even if the teams do tie.
While the Hilltoppers hoped to challenge the Blugolds and RiverHawks at the top of the MVC, they accepted after Ketelhut’s injury that it wasn’t going to happen.
What can still happen is a nice postseason run in the WIAA Division 2 playoffs. With Ketelhut back, the Hilltoppers will be a factor.
“I’m focused on getting back to where I was and coming back stronger,” Ketelhut said. “It’ll happen, and I’ll keep doing what I’m doing and helping my team in any way I can.”
Cowley said the boost is a nice one to get for a team that had won nine of 10 games before Ketelhut was injured.
“It’s like the heartbeat that makes us tick,” he said. “Things go through her, whether she is scoring or distributing, and we’re more fluid and fluent in everything we do.”
