ROGERS -- Emily Seiler walked out of the Rogers Heritage dressing room with an ice bag wrapped to her left knee after nearly every game or practice last season.
The 5-foot-4 senior sports no such excess baggage this year. Instead, the height is back on her jump shot, and she's able to find that extra gear to go past defenders off the dribble.
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Emily Seiler
School: Rogers Heritage
Height: 5-foot-4
Class: Senior
Notable: leads the Lady War Eagles, averaging 10 points per game ….Bbounced back strong from a knee injury prior to her junior season. … Verbally comitted to play soccer at Northeastern (Okla.) State in Tahlequah, Okla.
Seiler and Heritage girls basketball coach Kevin Ramey both agreed the difference is she's pain-free now. Seiler suffered a torn meniscus in her knee, while playing soccer during the summer between her sophomore and junior years. Ramey said the recovery process was slow, which hampered her throughout her junior season. But her attitude never wavered.
"She really played the whole year at about 60 percent," Ramey said. "But she has a huge heart, and I think she just kinda gutted through it. She's got a warrior mentality. She's not gonna complain. But you'd watch her during and after games and see the pain she was in. We tried to manage it the best we could, but we needed her to play 30 minutes a game."
Seiler said the difference in this season and last is like night and day.
"Oh yeah, it's just totally different," Seiler added. "I would have the aches and pains after every game and even after practice. I would always ice my knee."
The difference is also in the numbers. She's averaging right at 10 points per game, compared to a paltry 3.4 points per game a year ago.
Seiler didn't even score in double figures in a game last season, as opposed to 12 times in 20 games this year. The difference in 3-point field goal percentage is also big, shooting 38 percent this season compared to 26 percent a year ago.
"As she's gotten healthy, her play has just elevated right to where you expected," Ramey said. "When we got her back out of soccer last year, she had her legs back under her."
In addition to scoring, she's provided primary ball-handling responsibilities and strong leadership for the Lady War Eagles, who enter the second round of 7A-West Conference play at 6-14 overall and 1-6 in the league.
Ramey wanted to shift Seiler from shooting guard to the point a year ago, but he decided against it because of the injury. But she's handled the transition fine, Ramey said.
"With the way her leg was, she didn't have the same quickness and escapability, but she's got that back and then some this year," Ramey said.
Seiler doesn't shy away from a challenge either. When Ramey explained the ball would need to be in her hands a great deal against full-court pressure against some recent opponents, she didn't flinch.
"Oh yeah, all she said was 'Coach, I'm ready,'" Ramey said. "But that's just her. She's our leader, our communicator on the floor. But what I love about her is her heart for the team. She just really helps us go."
Seiler, who has already verbally committed to play college soccer at Northeastern Oklahoma State (NEO) in Tahlequah, Okla., is looking forward to the upcoming prep soccer season, too.
"Oh I know I'm stronger than I was in the summer, so yes, I'm anxious for soccer season to get here," Seiler said. "I'm excited to see how that will go, too."
Now that she's pain-free, and ice-free, the sky's the limit.
Sports on 02/02/2016