In the fall, senior guard Sara Burzycki suffered a meniscus tear during the flag football season for St. Laurence. And in a way, she was actually happy about it.
See, during her junior year, she suffered a meniscus tear along with an ACL injury playing flag football and that wiped out her entire basketball season.
Missing a month this time didn’t seem so bad.
“Coming back from the ACL and the meniscus was hard enough,” Burzycki said. “But this year, when I only tore my meniscus, it was almost like good news. I was expecting the worst.
“So it was a month of (physical training) and I’m good.”
The 5-foot-7 Burzycki was good to go Thursday night, pulling down 11 rebounds to go with five points for the Vikings in a 55-42 nonconference win over host Lincoln-Way Central in New Lenox.
Aaliyah Flores paced the Vikings (20-11) with a game-high 23 points, while Ciyah Thomas added 16 points and seven rebounds. Elle Rice had five rebounds.
Aubrey Birmingham led Lincoln-Way Central (12-19) with 11 points and Olivia Gehrke followed with eight. Christina Galka, a 5-3 junior guard, got all seven of her rebounds in the second half.
For Burzycki, being on the court again means everything. Even with the setbacks, she wasn’t ready to give up.
“Not at all,” Burzycki said. “I never doubted I was coming back.”
If anyone knows about what Burzycki has been going through, it’s Flores. She missed last season with a meniscus injury.
“Sara went through a lot mentally and physically,” Flores said. “When you are injured, it’s not all physical. We went through a lot of it together last year. Her injury was more major than mine.
“But we were on the sidelines and we were there for each other. We were like sisters helping each other out. We talked about everything with each other.”
Flores pointed out that she and Burzycki are in a “great headspace” this season. And she’s happy to see Burzycki back on the court, especially because of her work on the boards.
“Her rebounding is insane,” Flores said of Burzycki. “She’s probably one of the best rebounders I have seen for her size. She brings us so much.
“Aside from rebounding, she can get to the basket. She’s amazing.”
St. Laurence coach Claire Austin made sure to ease Burzycki into the lineup this season, but now things are back to normal. Burzycki played a little over a half Thursday.
“Honestly, she didn’t miss a beat,” Austin said of Burzycki. “That’s exactly how we expected Sara to be. She was out there six minutes, eight minutes, 12 minutes, and you could tell that she wanted to be out there the whole time.”
Burzycki has committed to Ohio Wesleyan. The Battling Bishops, who have been ranked in the top 10 in the nation in NCAA Division III, have posted a 16-game winning streak this season.
“I was a little nervous because I had to tell them about all the injuries that happened,” she said. “They saw video of me and they were still interested in me.”
It’s going to be a busy time for Burzycki as she closes out her senior year.
The Vikings open the postseason as the seventh seed of the Class 4A Hinsdale Central Sectional. They will face 10th-seeded Downers Grove South at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Downers Grove North Regional.
With everyone healthy, the Vikings are hoping for a deep run. And after the playoffs, Burzycki will have plenty to do as the school’s student council president.
“We plan pep rallies and blood drives and a lot of events,” she said, “There’s a lot of senior stuff going on and we will help with prom. I like being involved and helping people at the school.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
