Posted 1/12/06
UW-Platteville's Emily Adrian is a senior point guard from Glen Haven and a River Ridge graduate. She leads the surprising Pioneers into a key conference game Saturday vs. UW-Eau Claire. The women's contest begins at 5 p.m., and the men's 30 minutes after the conclusion. One ticket is good for both games.
Let's start at the beginning of the year, and your knee injury in the first game. How did it happen, and how have you recovered?
"I just remember cutting, and all of a sudden I felt the inside of my knee pop. They said I sprained my MCL. I came back for our River Falls game (Dec. 10) and re-injured it, but now it's doing pretty good. They said I probably won't ever be 100 percent, but it's good enough. I can handle the pain. It doesn't hurt that bad, just once in a while."
Did it make you appreciate the game more?
"Oh yeah, especially when I was sitting on the bench. Coach had to yell at me one time to stop. In a timeout, I would talk to all the girls, and finally coach stopped me and said, 'Emily, can I talk now?' The first game back on the court, my adreline was pumping so much that I didn't even notice the brace. It was good just to get back out there."
The season is not very old, but the Pioneers have already had two history-making games, winning at UW-Stout for the first time since 1990 and beating UW-Oshkosh at home for the first time in 15 years. How satisfying were those?
"They were so exciting. I didn't get to play against Stout, but now I've been part of beating them here for the first time in a long time and then beating them up there. And beating Oshkosh was exciting, too, because they're always good."
Do you find yourself peaking at the standings yet, or do you take them one game at a time?
"More one game at a time. We always say that we have nothing to lose. We were predicted to finish eighth. We just have to make sure we're ready to play one game at a time."
UW-Eau Claire is another big game. How do you prepare for these teams that have been traditional powers in the league?
"We just think of what we need to do. We need to play well together and think about what we are doing."
What does your future hold after this year?
"I have one semester of classes left, and then I will student teach in the fall and become a phy ed teacher and hopefully find a job. I'm also looking at health promotion and becoming a personal trainer."
Interview by SID Paul Erickson