Falcons star Janessa Gonzalez out for season with leg injury

By JOE PALLADINO

The St. Paul Catholic girls basketball team will now attempt to defend its NVL championship without its star sophomore.

Janessa Gonzalez, an All-NVL selection, NVL tournament most valuable player last season as just a freshman, and perhaps the league’s best player, will miss the remainder of this season due to a left leg injury suffered last Friday night. 

Falcons head coach Joe Mone said Wednesday in an e-mail message that Gonzalez “will be out for the year do to a knee injury suffered in game versus Holy Cross.” Mone did not disclose the nature of the injury, but when Gonzalez hobbled out of the St. Paul High gymnasium that night an ice pack was taped to the back of her left knee.

Gonzalez, who is averaging 18.6 ppg, crashed to the floor in pain and was carried off the court by Mone with 2:27 left to play in the first quarter in the game against Cross. She returned to start the second quarter, but on a drive to hoop her left leg gave out, she collapsed to the floor, and as she hobbled off the floor she looked to the Falcons bench and shook her head, noting that she was done for the night, and now, for the season.    

Despite losing their star player, the Falcons hung on for a stirring 54-46 victory over Holy Cross. After the victory Mone said, “This is the proudest I’ve been of this team in a long time,” as the Falcons won despite losing “our leading scorer, and probably one of the top players in the league.”

Gonzalez is one of the NVL’s top five leading scorers, and she scored 25 points in two games this season. Since the injury, St. Paul (11-2/10-1 NVL) lost to Seymour and defeated Derby.