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After a total of 18 months recovering and rehabbing from the two surgeries, Sloneker is finally back with the Hornets (10-4) for her senior season. She was released to full participation a few weeks ago and played her first game Jan. 17, easing in for a total of six minutes in which she recorded three assists and three steals.
“It feels really good,” Sloneker said. “It feels like I’m back where I need to be. I felt stagnant not going anywhere for so long, but being back in practice feels really good and just to be playing again with my team.”
It’s been a long road to recovery both mentally and physically.
The recovery process the first time she tore her ACL was much simpler than the second one. Sloneker had been cleared to practice last January but was still a little hesitant to jump off her left leg in a layup drill and instead went over to the right side, thinking that would be safer. However, on her first layup, she landed awkwardly and knew right away she had re-torn the ligament. She also tore her meniscus, which added more time to the second rehab.
“It was like slow motion,” Sloneker said. “I saw my knee wobble and I just fell to the ground very weird. I immediately limped off into the training room, and I knew because I felt the pop and saw my knee wobble.
“I remember saying to myself it was surreal. I just couldn’t believe I hurt my knee again. It didn’t feel real. I just can’t explain it.”
This time the surgeon took a piece of her patellar tendon from her right leg to repair the ACL, and that caused her to lose strength in both legs because she couldn’t use either one for a while.
The recovery was expected to be nine to 12 months with rehab two or three times a week, but as she neared the finish line, she continued to have minor setbacks. As Sloneker got closer to the season starting in November, she began to have her doubts about whether she would be able to play.
“I thought there was no way I would be playing,” Sloneker said. “Every time I went to doctor there was a setback or pain, just all these hiccups that added up. I knew I wanted to play my senior year, but I did have doubts.”
Sitting out and watching her teammates, including her twin sister Sophie, last year and early this season proved difficult.
Sloneker had been the team’s leading scorer her freshman and sophomore years, averaging 12.6 points per game during a 20-5 season in 2017 and 8.8 points during a more difficult 2016 season in which Monroe finished 11-12.
“I remember after one of the scrimmages, we didn’t do very well and I just wanted to go in the game so bad,” Sloneker said. “I ran into a hallway crying so no one would see me.”
The Hornets were 17-7 last year and managed a 9-3 start without her this season despite also missing a couple other players because of ankle injuries.
Now, they are glad to have their point guard back. Sophie Sloneker, who averages 9.2 points, and Olivia Wells-Daniels, who leads with 11.1 points per game, have split point-guard duties in her absence — and done well — but coach Chad Allen said both were looking forward to returning to their normal positions.
“Katie is a true point guard and on top of that, she’s a 5-(foot)-11 point guard. So when she’s in the game people can’t press us, and everyone has a new role so they don’t have to worry about handling the ball, running the offense,” Allen said. “Then there are mismatches because she’s a 5-11 point guard. The game is so smooth when she’s in the game. When she’s not, the last year and a half other girls have stepped up and even though they don’t necessarily want to play this position, they do it, and they’ve done fantastic.”
Sloneker will continue to ease back in, but Allen expects after three or four games, she will be back to game conditioning and ready for full participation.
“It’s such a credit to her with what she’s been through having to watch her teammates and her sister carrying the team,” Allen said. “It was a lot of hard work and tears. In practice, she looks good. We’re just trying to build her into full drills, and we got her first action the other night. Watching her come back from a double injury like that, when she’s able to go full go without restrictions on minutes, it’s going to feel so gratifying for her.”
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