Tuesday, November 2, 2010

UIS women's basketball team returns brightest star

Following knee surgery in May, Paulina Pogorzelski took a been-there, done-that approach to her recovery.

“I did my rehab on my own because I’ve done rehab before and I pretty much know all the basics,” said Pogorzelski, a senior forward on the University of Illinois Springfield women’s basketball team.

The 6-foot-1 Pogorzelski played while injured for nearly the entire 2009-10 season. The Chicago native tore the meniscus in her left knee while going for a rebound in practice last December.

Pogorzelski, who also was bothered by a tear in hip joint cartilage, didn’t let the injuries stop her. She kept playing and ended the season as the Prairie Stars’ top scorer and rebounder at 14.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.

She underwent surgery in the spring on the same knee that she injured playing soccer in high school. That time she tore the anterior cruciate ligament.

Pogorzelski was featured in a November 2, 2010, article in The State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article