Gabby's senior night foiled by ankle injury

For the first three quarters of the Franklin girls basketball game Thursday, it looked as if they might have lost a little pep in their step. Their shots were falling short and they looked a bit tired. 

It might have been because their defensive dynamo and only senior, Gabby LaJeunesse, was missing from action.

LaJeunesse suffered an ankle injury in practice the night before her final regular season game. She celebrated her senior night on crutches and had to watch from the bench as her teammates secured third place in the region with a 29-13 win over Corry.

Though her teammates held Corry to just 13 points, the senior said with confidence that if she was playing - “I think they would have scored less points.”

She has reason for this confidence averaging 2.7 steals a game and had five in each of her last two games, she said.

“Her last three games have been her best all year,” Gabby’s mom, Debby LaJeunesse said after watching what is likely to be her favorite athlete's final game at the Castle. It is the second time this season LaJeunesse has been out due to an ankle injury, her mom said. "Should have bought bubble wrap 18 years ago," she joked. 

To make up for LaJeunesse’s absence on defense, the Knights spent the night sprinting around the court with fewer breaks in the rotation. They struggled to score for the first 24 minutes of the game but managed to hang on to a 16-11 lead thanks to a slew of steals, blocks, tip-aways and forced five-second violations.

In the fourth quarter, they finally seemed to hit the zone on offense and bucketed 13 points in six minutes.
Estella Adams once again led the Knights with a game-high 11 points. She ends the regular season near the 225 point mark and has more than 40 treys on the year.  

Jennifer Blum and Kirsten Hicks added six points each. Jamie Blum had five points and Katie Boal had one.

LaJeunesse was happy to report the Knights would be moving into playoff action and optimistic that she might return to her spot among the team’s starters. But just like the details of when and where the Franklin girls will play next week, it is too early to tell. She still wasn't putting pressure on her ankle and was giving it one more day. She said they hoped to know Sunday night who and where they will play their first District 10 playoff matchup.