Park Vista (Lake Worth ,Fla) sophomore guard/forward Christina Saint-Pierre
made a lot of game-changing decisions on the court this season. Such as when to
drive in, shoot a jump shot, draw a foul and calling the right plays.
But little do people know the most important
decision made was the one by the doctors to save left arm and preserved her
basketball career.
Saint-Pierre, 15, injured her arm in the third
grade after she accidentally fell out of a tree. The injury required surgery
and left her with permanent damage.
"If I would to have lost my arm, I would
not be playing basketball right now," Saint-Pierre said. "I was young
at the time, when I broke my arm, and I barely knew anything about basketball,
but if I had a prosthetic arm then yea [things would be different] because
I guess it was meant for me to play."
Saint-Pierre would bounce back from the early
injury and play basketball, but after a rough freshman year, she was itching to
get back on the court because she has three goals for this season: to start on
varsity, win more games and be the best on the court. She was one of the five
starters, the team won five more games then last year and she used her speed to
blow past the defenders to be one of the best on the court and all three of her
goals have been met.
"I'm really happy with my performance on
the court this season," she said. "It was way better than last year,
but I still have so much to learn."
Her next goal is to earn a scholarship.
Besides the team's disappointing end to the
season, Saint-Pierre reached a milestone. She is the first sophomore, in a
matter of three years, to lead the team in points, free throws attempted and
free throws made in a regular season according to The Palm Beach Post. She had
a total of 122 points, 65 free throws attempted and 30 free throws made.
"Every time I step foot on the court I
felt that I had to kill it and stand out," Saint-Pierre said. "It's
like a once in a life time thing to lead a team in all three categories only
being a sophomore and I'm happy I was able to do that."
It's been a dream season for Saint-Pierre,
especially considering the nightmare it could have been if she would to have
lost her arm..
"She was always a nature athlete and tough
girl," her sister Tracy Saint-Pierre said.
During the season, Saint-Pierre got injured
during a game but didn't tell anyone. The coaches saw her swollen knee and
sought medical attention right away.
"I didn't want to be a quitter, I wanted
to play hard the whole game and do everything I can to help the team," she
said.
With her speed, quickness and height advantage
Saint-Pierre is projected to be one of the top-rated juniors coming into next
season.
