Burrell senior coming to grips with ‘heartbreaking’ knee injury

By: Michael Love
Monday, December 27, 2021 | 8:00 PM

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Allison Fisher’s senior season was full of promise.

The Burrell guard and multi-time section and Valley News Dispatch all-star had her sights set on leading the Bucs to a strong season and a WPIAL playoff spot in Section 1-4A.

But her on-court goals were dashed just days before the start of the season when she suffered an ACL and MCL tear during a Dec. 6 practice.

With surgery to repair the injury behind her and the recovery process in front of her, she hopes to make the most of this turn of events, both for herself and in support of her teammates who continue to battle in the early part of the season.

“It’s really tough to watch and not be able to be out there, knowing I could provide an extra shot or an extra pass,” said Fisher, a Washington & Jefferson College verbal commit.

“I am learning every day how to be a leader from the sidelines, to put in my word and see what I can do to support my teammates. I know how everyone has looked up to me, so I want to continue to be there as much as I can.”

During a full-court drill Fisher said she had done probably a hundred or more times in her competitive basketball career, she went up to block a shot in transition. As she planted and was going up, her knee buckled.

“It happened on the way up and not in the landing which is when it normally happens,” she said. “There was no contact. It was just the wrong placement of my foot, and I felt it in the air.”

The full extent of the injury wasn’t known until an MRI the next day.

“Before that, we were hoping that it was just something like a bone bruise, and I would maybe be out a few weeks to a month, at most,” she said. “I am not going to sugarcoat it. It was heartbreaking.”

Burrell had a home scrimmage against St. Joseph the next night. Fisher was there, and she was able talk to her teammates about the situation and what the next steps were going to be.

“It was tough emotionally to be there, but my coaches and teammates and everybody else were so supportive and encouraging,” said Fisher, who has been to several games since the injury but came to a practice for the first time Monday. “This team has such a close bond.”

She is almost two weeks out from the Dec. 15 surgery.

“Right after the injury, the goal was to get some motion and to get the swelling down so I could get surgery as soon as possible,” Fisher said. “I actually got surgery a lot sooner than people normally do after tearing their ACL.”

Now, she is in the early stages of rehab with goals of standing without support, walking to running and being cleared to return to the court over the next couple of months.

Burrell is looking for its first win after an 0-7 start to the season and an 0-2 mark in section play.

The Bucs are back in action at the Elizabeth Forward holiday tournament at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday against either Brentwood or the host Warriors.

“Her not being on the court has had a huge impact on the girls emotionally and also with what we wanted to do on the court,” first-year coach Shaun Reddick said. “She was a huge part of the team, obviously, and a great leader. She still is that leader but now in a different role. You can tell the girls care, and they’ve done whatever they can to let Allison know that.”

Fisher earned VND first-team honors last year after leading Burrell in scoring at 12.4 points a game.

“I made a lot of improvements since last year with my work in the offseason, with the team and also playing AAU,” Fisher said. “I had a lot to prove.”

Fisher also had her sights set on 1,000 points for her varsity career. She came into the season with 778 points and needed to average about 10 to 11 points a game to get there.

“I think the hardest part of it all was realizing and coming to terms with the fact that I wasn’t going to play with my sister, who is a starter,” Fisher said.

Julianna Fisher, a 5-foot-11 freshman forward, was excited for the opportunity to play with her older sister for the first time ever in an organized game.

“This has been really tough for me because this was going to be our only year, and I knew it was going to be special and a lot of fun,” the younger Fisher said.

“At first, I couldn’t believe it actually happened, but it’s getting a little easier to deal with. She’s still there to give me advice and talk to me about my game, but I really miss her not being out there (on the court) with me and the rest of the team.”

Fisher said she also is grateful for the continued support from the coaches and players at Washington & Jefferson.

“I have a lot of work to put in off the court to get ready, but the coach (Jina DeRubbo) said I still have a spot on the team. That is what I am working for now,” she said. “Before the injury I was questioning a little bit if I wanted to play in college, but now I know it’s what I want. This kind of reinforced that. I don’t want this to be the end of my playing career.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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