AUBURN — It was one of those moments seen all too often.

The most innocent of plays ends with an awkward landing and leads to an injury. The season changes in an instant.

That’s what Kelly Pomerleau was looking at a week ago.

The St. Dom’s standout guard was preparing for her senior season during a preseason game and she suddenly found herself on the shelf.

“We were scrimmaging Bonny Eagle and I got hit going for a layup,” said Pomerleau. “I landed really weird.”

She tweaked her knee. The initial prognosis was that it could be something minor or it could be something severe. It swelled up and a possible meniscus tear was discussed.

“I was always just thinking, ‘I’ll be okay’” Pomerleau said. “I’ve taken my share of hits. It scared me a little bit, but I thought about it and didn’t think there was any way I could have done this.”

Pomerleau has been no stranger to injury this season. As an all-state goalie for the Saints, she missed two weeks during the soccer season after a concussion. She collided head-to-head with Monmouth’s Kylie Kemp as both all-stars went for a ball without flinching.

“It was pretty nerve-wracking,” Pomerleau said. “I don’t like hospitals. I’d rather know than not know.”

The swelling began to subside last week and Pomerleau was initially restricted to minimal activity. But by midweek, she was given the green light to play.

“I texted my trainer and she told me to go full and she’s like, ‘It’s fine.” I was like, “Yes!” Basketball is my first love. I like soccer and all, but basketball, if we’re healthy this year, we’re going to surprise a lot of teams.”

Being healthy hasn’t been a given for the Saints. St. Dom’s battled injuries last year but still managed to reach the playoffs and advance as far as the Western C quarterfinals. With most of that team back, the Saints have high hopes but seeing Pomerleau injured in the preseason wasn’t the kind of start the Saints wanted.

“When they said possible torn meniscus and stuff like that, I couldn’t even think about it,” St. Dom’s coach Jon Berry said. “I haven’t had a practice yet with 10 healthy girls. So I’ve already been juggling a lot of thoughts in my head. So we’ve been taking it one day at a time. When I got the text saying she could practice at full speed, that was pretty nice.”

Pomerleau is still not 100 percent. She has an MRI scheduled for next week and will be playing through the injury until told otherwise.

Pomerleau led the Mountain Valley Conference in scoring last year with 20 points per game as well as nearly 5 assists. That was despite times last year when the Saints were so shorthanded because of injury that Pomerleau was double and triple teamed. Pomerleau was the only Saint to play in every St. Dom’s game last year. She also averaged five steals per game, which likely would have led the league if the MVC kept those stats.

“She has more weapons around her,” said Berry. “Last year only Alexis (Dwinell) and Faith (Grady) had varsity experience. This year, she has a bunch of girls around her that have played with her. If teams try to take two or three girls to key on Kelly, she’s going to get some help.”

Pomerleau is relieved to hear that. She admits it was a struggle at times last year. Both Callie Greco and Grady were out with injuries. It not only put a significant amount of pressure on Pomerleau, but limited the Saints’ potential as a team.

“We didn’t really get to show people what we could do,” Pomerleau said. “It was rough last year especially with Callie out. Because she’s the best point guard in the league and best players I’ve ever played with.”

Greco, a senior guard, averaged 8 points per game and three assists while Grady, a junior guard, had nearly 15 points per outing with 4.5 steals.

Pomerleau and her team have been able to work together in the offseason and include some of the new players. It’s given them a better sense of cohesiveness and helped Pomerleau’s game as well. She had a many turnovers last year. That was in part to the defensive pressure she saw as well as forcing things at times.

“My decision-making is a huge factor for me,” she said. “I feel like I’ve gotten much better at it.”

 St. Dom’s is hoping for great things this year. They’re shooting for a spot in the conference championship game and hope to go farther in the Western C tourney. Only one Saints team has ever won a quarterfinal game.

“If the players stay healthy, we’re definitely looking to improve upon last year,” Berry said. “Last year’s team was pretty god when we were healthy. We lost the first game of the season to Madison by single digits. We lost by two at Spruce Mountain. Then we lost at the Augusta Civic Center. Other than that nobody beat us when we were full strength.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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