GAETA LEADING, REGAINING GAME PARACLETE'S ONLY SENIOR COMES BACK FROM KNEE INJURY.Byline: Lauren Gustus Staff Writer You name it, she's probably played it. Dani Gaeta of Paraclete High has two older brothers, and her passion for sports grew as she spent her childhood tagging along with them. ``I'd play in the front yard with them all the time,'' said Gaeta, the only senior on Paraclete's girls' basketball team. Gaeta, whose two brothers also played basketball at Paraclete, is a three-sport athlete. She played volleyball volleyball, outdoor or indoor ball and net game played on a level court. An upright net, 3 ft (or 1 m) high, the top of which stands 8 ft (2.43 m) from the ground for men, 7 ft 4 1/8 in (2. in the fall and will start softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' as soon as this season is over. But Gaeta, who plays at the wing or the power-forward spot, isn't in any hurry to finish her senior season in basketball, her favorite sport of the three. After she tore her anterior cruciate ligament anterior cruciate ligament n. Abbr. ACL The cruciate ligament of the knee that crosses from the anterior intercondylar area of the tibia to the posterior part of the lateral condyle of the femur. in the Spirits' first league game last year and watched Paraclete limp LIMP - ["Messages in Typed Languages", J. Hunt et al, SIGPLAN Notices 14(1):27-45 (Jan 1979)]. to a 5-17 record in 2001-2002, Gaeta is happy to lead a team that's already topped last year's mark - Paraclete is now 6-3, and 2-0 in league. The improvement is equal parts old and new: Gaeta and other key returners have gained experience since last season. And the Spirits have a couple of freshmen who are impacting the team already. Gaeta thinks Bria Fields, a 6-foot post player who's averaging 19 points per game, takes the pressure off other players. ``She's been great underneath with the rebounds,'' Gaeta said. ``And it's nice to have somebody to pass it in to.'' The Spirits' No. 2 scorer is Jessica Echenique, who's averaging 10 points a game. Both freshmen played on travel basketball teams, and both played on Paraclete's summer league team. Gaeta is averaging just 6.5 points per game - she's still finding her rhythm. But her scoring has gone up recently. In Paraclete's first two league games, against Archer and Scott Academy, both big wins (75-23 and 65-52), Gaeta scored in the double digits Double Digits was a pricing game on the American television game show, The Price Is Right. Played from April 20, 1973 through May 18, 1973's show, it was played for a car and used small prizes. . ``My offense is just coming back,'' Gaeta said. Second-year coach Steve Echenique, Jessica's father, highlights Gaeta's defensive abilities more than her offensive contributions. ``She's our best on-ball defender,'' Echenique said. ``She'll handle (the opponent's) top ball-handing girl.'' Gaeta had surgery on the knee last February, and for six months she went to physical therapy three days a week. She was cleared to exercise in mid-July and started to play basketball in the Spirits' summer league at the end of July. Initially, Gaeta wore a bulky bulk·y adj. bulk·i·er, bulk·i·est 1. Having considerable bulk; massive. 2. Of large size for its weight: a bulky knit. 3. Clumsy to manage; unwieldy. fiberglass fiberglass, thread made from glass. It is made by forcing molten glass through a kind of sieve, thereby spinning it into threads. Fiberglass is strong, durable, and impervious to many caustics and to extreme temperatures. brace brace: see drill. (character) brace - left brace or right brace. on her knee, but now she's got just a small brace to keep her knee warm. She ices it after every game and practice. Although she's not overly concerned about re-injuring her knee, Gaeta said she's still trying to get back to the form she was in before the tear. ``It's been pretty slow,'' Gaeta said of her comeback. ``It's still not completely healed. There's still a little pain. I definitely played better before. I'm a little slower now.'' But it's possible that Paraclete's recent success has mitigated lingering lin·ger v. lin·gered, lin·ger·ing, lin·gers v.intr. 1. To be slow in leaving, especially out of reluctance; tarry. See Synonyms at stay1. 2. pain. Gaeta is excited for the Spirits to make a return to the playoff play·off also play-off n. Sports 1. A final game or series of games played to break a tie. 2. A series of games played to determine a championship. Noun 1. picture in her senior season. Paraclete reached the playoffs in Gaeta's freshman and sophomore seasons. If the Spirits' first two games in the Delphic League are any indication, their absence from the postseason should be short-lived. ``We want to win the rest of our games,'' Gaeta said. ``We're a well- rounded team, and definitely there's a big improvement from last year.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Paraclete's Dani Gaeta is contributing 6.5 points per game, and her scoring has risen recently. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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