Multiple knee injuries redirect senior's career -- By Chuck McGill (Daily Staff Writer)
WINCHESTER — Conventional wisdom suggests Dee Fisher should be anywhere but on a basketball court.
But Fisher, the sharp-shooting senior on Shenandoah's women's basketball team who has matching torn anterior cruciate ligaments in each knee, still enjoys lacing them up and dropping a few 3-pointers — despite her limitations and pain.
"It must be her heart," teammate Cassie Womack said Wednesday. "She's quiet and doesn't complain. When she's in pain, you can see it in her face — but she won't say anything."
Once upon a time, Fisher had the makings of one of the all-time greats at Shenandoah.
She started all but one game as a freshman in 2002-03, scoring at ease with the support of her then-able knees. She could drive to the basket or spot up from 3, an ability that helped her lead the team in scoring at 15.9 points per game.
Fisher also led the team in rebounding and earned USA South Rookie of the Year honors. She followed her freshman campaign with a stellar sophomore season, averaging 13.6 points and setting a school-record by shooting 44 percent on 3-pointers.
"Coming in, I just wanted to play college basketball," Fisher said. "All the other stuff was just a blessing."
Fisher's career took an unforeseen turn in the second game of her junior season. On a routine play against Randolph-Macon, she darted toward the basket, leaping in the air to lay the ball in for two more points.
When she left the ground, she felt a pop in her left knee and landed awkwardly. It was a torn ACL — an injury she suffered to her right knee while playing for Yorktown High School in Arlington.
"I came down and hit the ground hard," she recalled. "I just started screaming and crying; I guess things happen for a reason."
She took a medical redshirt, underwent two surgeries and rehabbed for 12 months to return for a second shot at her junior season last year. But her knees proved to be more of an adversary than past defenders.
"She was phenomenal," Womack said of Fisher's pre-injury talents. "She had this killer crossover, but she has no legs. That's what kills me."
Fisher's career statistics appear inverted, starting with a lofty freshman scoring average that diminishes each year thereafter. She has averaged only 5.6 points in the two seasons since the injury, including a career-low 5.3 this season — a fact she seems to care little about.
"I don't really look at stats like that," she said. "As long as I improve my game, it makes me happy."
Fisher hasn't started a game in her senior season, instead utilizing her still-smooth perimeter shooting off the bench in short spurts.
"She knows she's limited physically," coach Michelle Guyant-Holloway said. "She's been able to do a good job for whatever minutes she's able to go in."
Fisher still cannot straighten her left knee entirely and she's devoid of the speed that made her a tough matchup four years ago. Her teammates, who affectionately call her "Grandma" for her less-than-swift ways, said she remains an integral part of the team nonetheless.
"She's a silent winner," Womack said. "Regardless of what happened, she's still stepped in every game and done what she needs to do. She's still a go-to person."
And she still breaks out the killer crossover when she puts her mind to it.
"We pick on her, but we know she can cross anybody up when she wants to," fellow senior Alicia Sanders said. "It's awesome for her to go through that and still be out here playing."
Fisher recently scored her 1000th point, a milestone she's particularly proud of because it means she kept playing. Even with the injury, she holds the school record for 3-point percentage (40 percent); with another nine 3s, she will be come the all-time leader in 3-pointers made.
"There were points where I wanted to give up," she said.
"It's been a long road, but it's also been a good one."
