SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Corsica-Stickney standout Avery Broughton was named a finalist for the Sanford Pentagon/KELOLAND Media Group Player of the Year as a freshman two years ago. The expectations were high for her Sophomore year, until an injury sidelined her for several months.

Avery Broughton and the Corsica-Stickney Jaguars were off to 9-2 start last season and then came a bump in the road. Broughton, their leading scorer, tore her ACL in late January.

“She was boxing out on a free throw and a girl collided with her from the side and she was kind of took out right at the knee. We went in the next day and that’s when we discovered it was an ACL,” Lorisa Broughton said.

“I’ve known some people that have torn their ACL’s before and they all kind of say the same thing, you hear and feel this pop and I felt that right away. I kind of just ignored it and I thought ‘I’ll be fine’ and I tried to go back in and it wasn’t fine. I came back out and went to the doctor the next day and I got that news. It is just crushing news to hear,” Avery Broughton said.

Broughton had surgery a week later, but the challenging road to recovery was just beginning.

“It’s very difficult to watch your kid go through that. The depression that they have, they feel like they don’t have any worth any more and that’s been so much a part of it. We really watched for that,” Lorisa Broughton said.

“You kind of go to a dark place mentally at first, when that gets taken away from you, but you’ve got to find what your new role is and for me, that was helping in anyway that I could, whether it was on the bench or helping with the younger girls, this or that,” Avery Broughton said.

Broughton returned to the floor on December 9 against Chamberlain, nearly 11 months after her injury.

“I kind of got the chills. I’m never nervous for basketball games. I love playing and I was nervous for that game. It kind of felt crazy, I’m like ‘oh, I’m never nervous and now I’m kind of shaky and kind of nervous’, but once the game started, it felt like I was back to normal,” Avery said.

The Jaguars started 4-0 this season as they are in search of their first ever state title.

“We feel like we can play with anybody and that’s our goal, a state championship,” Avery said.