Hilley rebounds from injury

By FAITH MOLDAN

Bigfork Eagle

“I like having control,” she said. "I basically dedicate all my time to sports,” Bigfork senior point guard Carly Hilley said. “It’s about to pay off.”

Hilley, a three-year member of the Valkyrie varsity basketball team and starting point guard this season, can’t hide her smile when she talks about the Vals’ regular season, upcoming trip to the Northwest A Divisionals and the possibility of qualifying for the state tournament.

“I knew we were going to be good,” Hilley said of the Vals, who returned no starters this season but have a core of players that gained varsity experience last year. The Vals put together an impressive regular season with an overall record of 16-2 and conference record of 11-1. Their record put them at the top of the Northwest A Conference.

As of February 13, Hilley ranked fourth in the conference in assists per game with 3.17. She’s tied with teammate Roxy Thurman for fifth in free-throw percentage, making 68.42 percent of her free-throws. Hilley and Whitefish’s Kirsten Blackburn are tied for 10th in three-point field goal percentage. Hilley has made 11 of 46 threes or 23.91 percent.

Two years ago it would have been questionable whether or not Hilley would play basketball - or any sport for that matter - after tearing the ACL in her right knee.

“It was devastating,” Hilley said of the tear she suffered the spring of her sophomore year while playing soccer. She also had a concussion and needed 20 stitches in her head that same year — a rough year she recalled. Hilley said that looking at six months of rehab was daunting, but she pulled through with lots of time, hard work and support from her basketball coach Nate Hammond.

A week after undergoing surgery on her knee, Hilley joined the rest of the Vals at Griz summer camp.

“She could barely walk, but she paid to go to camp and wanted to be involved,” Hammond said. He helped her with exercises to slowly re-strengthen her knee.

“He’d nag me to do my exercises, but it was nice knowing I was a part of the team and had people I was working for,” Hilley said. Hilley spent a half hour or hour every night at the camp just holding her leg up, something she was unable to do when she first arrived there.

With just five months of rehab under her belt, Hilley hit the hardwood for the 2005-2006 basketball season. She was forced to miss the fall soccer season, a disappointment for Hilley who started playing soccer in the fifth grade and referred to it as a passion. Hilley said if she tried to continue her athletic career after high school, she’d want to play soccer in college. She is also a member of the Bigfork High School track and field team, competing in the 800-meter run and 4-by-400-meter relay as well as the javelin.

“It’s hard to give it up after spending so much time,” Hilley said of her athletic career. She plans on continuing her involvement in sports and work with athletes with a major in sports medicine at the University of Montana. “My injury sparked my interest in the field,” she said.

Not only did her injury turn her on to a future career, it also made her stronger both physically and mentally.

“I was still pretty weak last year,” Hilley said. She added that knowing she could overcome an injury that could have ended her career provided some mental motivation.

“It was a little tough for her last year,” Hammond said. “She was a half a step slower than she is this year and her leg wasn’t as strong.”

Hilley wasn’t alone in the rehab department though. Teammate Avery Vogel, a junior this year, was also recovering from a torn ACL last season.

“It was nice,” Vogel said of going through the rehabilitation process at the same time as Hilley. “We had someone to talk to. We could feed off of each other.” Vogel had to miss the fall volleyball season while she strengthened her knee during six months of rehab.

“She’s definitely a strong leader,” Vogel said of Hilley. “Mr. Hammond looks to her to make smart decisions at the end of the game.”

Hammond agreed, saying she leads not only on the floor, but is a good leader by putting in the necessary time during the off-season. A team captain this season, Hammond said Hilley is valuable to the BHS basketball program not just with her play.

“She worked with younger kids her sophomore year with her sister Hannah,” Hammond said. Hilley played varsity basketball with her sister her sophomore year.

“We’re definitely a sports family,” Hilley said. “I’ve been dribbling a ball since I could walk.” Her family supports her, attending all of her games.

Hilley also has a family on the basketball court.

“I love being out there with my teammates,” she said. “They’re my family. We get along on and off the floor. It makes it fun to play.”

Vogel echoed that sentiment.

“It’s awesome. There’s nothing else to say,” she said about the Vals’ season. “It’s sad she’s (Hilley) leaving.”

Hilley currently considers bouncing back from her knee injury as her biggest basketball accomplishment, but said she hopes her biggest accomplishment will be helping the Vals win a state championship.