BATH TWP. — Revere girls basketball coach Kevin Verde had planned to buy a bouquet of flowers to give to Highland star Marlee Profitt when she scored her 1,000th career point.
Verde instead somberly gave his condolences to Profitt on Saturday afternoon, leading to a hug and tears of appreciation from the 6-foot-1 Valparaiso recruit.
Highland’s Alaina Monroe scores over Revere’s Viktoria Farian, left, and Hailey Hujer during the third quarter. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)
Less than 20 hours before the Hornets were slated to battle the Minutemen in a huge Suburban League American Division game, doctors revealed Profitt had sustained a season-ending torn ACL in her left knee Wednesday against Kent Roosevelt.
The shockwave reverberated throughout the incredibly close Highland program, as everyone, including Profitt, was convinced the injury was not serious.
“It’s been awful,” Profitt said while trying to force a smile to mask her true emotions. “I haven’t stopped crying.”
“My heart breaks for Marlee,” coach Mike Moser added. “My heart also breaks for the rest of the kids. It’s clearly such a tight-knit group that when one of them suffers something like that, they all suffer something like that — not just on the court, but behind the scenes, too.”
After a pregame team meeting — “we all just bawled our eyes out in the locker room,” Profitt said — the undersized Hornets kept pace with Revere for a quarter before falling behind and looking lost without Profitt.
The 55-23 defeat snapped Highland’s 10-game winning streak and gave the Minutemen a share of first place in the division.
The game, which included Revere standout Camryn Brown surpassing 1,000 career points, was hardly the biggest conversation piece among fans.
Profitt was injured in the first quarter of the 50-38 win over Roosevelt while flashing down the middle of the key on a fast break and looking for a pass from guard Veronica Peterlin. Profitt never got the pass because she made contact with the Rough Riders’ Samara Wright and crumbled to her knees.
After halftime, Profitt appeared to be no worse for wear, re-entered the game and helped the Hornets pull away from the Rough Riders, but she felt her knee was unstable and Moser yanked her for good after she made her only basket, a 3-pointer, in the fourth quarter.
Two days later, doctors called with the MRI results.
“I came home from practice (Friday) hoping to have the (MRI) results so I could know if it was a bone bruise or something else that was not even major,” said Profitt, who ends her career fifth in school history with 976 points. “I walk in and my dad (Scott) was like, ‘It’s bad news.’ My dad always jokes with me, so I was like, ‘Ha ha. Good one,’ but he was like, ‘No, you might want to sit down.’ Then he’s just like, ‘You just completely tore your ACL,’ and I just started bawling.”
So, too, did her teammates before and after the loss to Revere.
Behind two 3-pointers from forward Kathleen Kirchner, Highland (11-2, 6-1) ended the first quarter on a 13-3 run to take a three-point lead. Then the game turned ugly, as Revere (7-6, 6-1) went on a 35-3 run that featured the 1,000th point by High Point recruit Brown (14 points, 8 rebounds) and 1-for-26 shooting by the Hornets, who also had 16 straight misses and a scoreless second quarter.
Highland finished 7-for-50 from the floor, 3-for-20 from 3-point range and 6-for-16 from the foul line. Those figures were 3-for-38, 0-for-15 and 4-for-14 after the first quarter.
Despite the crushing loss, the Hornets, who also were outrebounded 47-21, felt they did all they could under the circumstances.
“I don’t think you can say (the game) is any indication whatsoever of what our kids play basketball like when (Profitt) is not on the floor,” Moser said. “The emotions are all over the place, and I don’t know anyone mentally strong enough to just bounce out of what we’ve had to deal with and be able to compete at the highest level.”
On the other hand, Highland knows the season isn’t over. The Hornets would still grab a piece of a league title for the first time since 1980 if they defeat Aurora (Jan. 23), Copley (Jan. 27), Tallmadge (Jan. 30), Barberton (Feb. 3) and Roosevelt (Feb. 10).
They also know they’ll have to do that without Profitt in the middle.
“Obviously Marlee is a huge part of this team,” Kirchner said. “She always has been and she always will be regardless of if she’s hurt or not. Other girls definitely had to step into other roles they weren’t comfortable with, but it was nice to come off the court and have her cheering us on, just as she was on the court next to us.”
Revere 55, Highland 23
HIGHLAND 13 0 3 7 — 23
REVERE 10 18 13 14 — 55
Highland — Madison Less 0-0-0, Kathleen Kirchner 2-1-7, Alli Esker 1-0-2, Veronica Peterlin 0-0-0, Sam Catron 1-2-5, Emily Lyon 1-2-4, Lauren Zuro 0-0-0, Alaina Monroe 2-0-4, Cameron Angus 0-0-0, Hannah Zuro 0-0-0, Kat Van Kirk 0-1-1. TOTALS: 7-6-23.
Revere — Abby Brock 1-1-4, Alyssa Nicholas 2-1-5, Viktoria Farian 5-1-11, Emily Brock 2-5-9, Camryn Brown 5-0-14, Hailey Hujer 0-0-0, Salwa Najjar 2-0-4, Jessica Vari 2-0-4, Alexa Langenfeld 0-0-0, Caitlyn Auletta 0-0-0, Taylor Rinn 2-0-4, Meiling Spelic 0-0-0. TOTALS: 21-8-55.
3-point goals — Kirchner 2, Catron, Brown 4, A. Brock. Rebounds — Highland 21 (Less 4), Revere 47 (Farian 9). Assists — Highland 4 (Less, Catron 2), Revere 8 (Nicholas, Hujer 3). Records — Highland (11-2, 6-1), Revere (7-6, 6-1). Junior varsity — Revere 42, Highland 35.