Gilbert’s Liz Wexler looks for an open teammate during a scrimmage against Torrington on Wednesday. Christopher Massa Republican-American
By JOE PALLADINO
Republican-American
Liz Wexler knew it was bad instantly. She remembers the moment in detail: Oct. 20, 2015, at Walker Field in Winsted, a Berkshire League girls soccer game against Housatonic.
“I heard the ankle crack,” said the basketball star about the unlucky break to her right ankle. “I was pounding the grass and screaming. I knew it was bad.”
Wexler was — make that is — a BL basketball prodigy. As a freshman, the 5-foot-3 guard scored 411 points for Gilbert. That total led the league.
She was a first-team BL All-Star. This was a 2,000-point career waiting to happen.
But on that day in October, not even two months into her sophomore year, Wexler’s career path took a detour while on a soccer pitch.
“At the hospital that night, they were thinking I might miss two or three weeks, maybe a month,” Wexler, now a junior, recalled.
But that was before two surgeries at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, when orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mariam Hakim-Zargar used permanent screws to hold Wexler’s ankle together.
This was far worse than she imagined. Wexler missed an entire season of her favorite game. She is not sure what caused more discomfort: the ankle break or watching from the bench.
“Liz is the consummate team player,” said coach Gerry Hicks. “The most important thing to her is the success of the team.”
But Wexler is back, and the Yellowjackets’ basketball fortunes have improved.
First off, Wexler gave up soccer and played volleyball to begin her junior year. The ankle “feels really good,” she said.
She feels even better.
“I can play basketball again, and be happy, and play with people that I enjoy and hang out with, on and off the court.”
Wexler played summer ball, fall ball, and the ankle passed every physical test. The next test is for the team: Can the Yellowjackets become a BL contender?
“Yes,” Wexler said emphatically. “We’ve worked long and hard. This team has grown up together. We have played together since the fifth and sixth grades. This is the year we’ve been waiting for.”
In her freshman year, Gilbert reached the state tournament for the first time in seven years and finished 8-14. Last season, without her, the Yellowjackets improved to 9-13.
This year’s team has height and experience, led by seniors Ali Brochu, Deanna Delacruz and Grace Valickis. There is quickness, another Wexler in little sister Jill and, of course, a 20-point-per-game scorer back on the floor.
It is time, Liz Wexler says, to bring basketball back to prominence at Gilbert. When the Hive is full and buzzing, there is no tougher place to play in the BL.
“If we can win a few games, maybe more people will come,” said Wexler, who is, finally, “back to normal. I am back where I belong.”
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