Spirit Isn’t Broken Pruett Delivers Despite Injuries

Playing with pain and injury has become old hat for Ferris three-sport athlete Karie Pruett.

The Saxons senior suffered a broken wrist in an early October soccer game against Lewis and Clark. But she has battled back to become a key figure in Ferris’ playoff drive.

Pruett broke her wrist when a ball ricocheted off another player’s foot, hit her wrist and bent it back. She was sidelined for nearly a month.

Pruett got her revenge, though.

Ferris (15-5) played LC in the first round of the playoffs Oct. 29, and Pruett was a big part of eliminating the Tigers. Pruett came off the bench to score the go-ahead goal with 5 minutes left. Ferris scored again to win 3-1.

A little more than a week later, Pruett scored another goal in the Saxons’ 2-0 win over Kamiakin, advancing them to Saturday’s 1 p.m. State 4A quarterfinal against Mead (17-1) at Albi Stadium.

Mead defeated Ferris 2-1 in a non-league match and 3-0 in a Greater Spokane League counter, but Ferris won the Nov. 5 district title match 1-0. Pruett wouldn’t have missed the chance to play Mead again.

“I think anybody on our team would (be playing),” Pruett said. “Our team is pretty tough. We end up with a lot of injuries, but everybody fights back.”

“That layoff, for her, was real hard,” said Ferris coach Robin Crain. “To watch those games where her teammates were playing and she couldn’t do anything except sit on the side, it made her a little bit hungry. Once she got back into it, she was hungry. Not just to be out there, but hungry to contribute and score goals.

To be able to play, Pruett must cover her cast with a half-inch or more of padding. Football pads, foam and ace bandages make it legal for her to play.

“They say it’s a weapon,” Pruett said. “It slows me down a little bit.”

She expects the cast to be removed as soon as soccer season ends.

This isn’t the first time Pruett has played with an injury that limits her athletic ability.

At the end of last basketball season, she suffered a stress facture to her ankle at the regional tournament. So she wouldn’t miss the track season, she was fitted with a boot to protect her ankle.

Despite throwing the javelin off two steps - most javelin throwers take a long run before throwing - Pruett made it to regionals.

Pruett will collect 12 letters in her four years at Ferris, four each in basketball, soccer and track. Basketball is her favorite sport; she has high hopes of getting a basketball scholarship.

Although basketball season begins Monday, Pruett wouldn’t mind putting off the start of her favorite sports season. A win against Mead would earn Ferris a trip to a semifinal Nov. 21 in Federal Way.

Pruett comes from a close, supportive family.

“They come to every game,” she said of the cheering section composed of her parents, grandparents and other relatives. “They never miss anything.”

Pruett, who carries a 3.65 GPA, is undecided on a major for college.

Saturday’s match will cost $5 for adults, $3 for students.

3A quarterfinal

Yakima- and Tri-Cities-area teams have stood in the way of East Valley for several years. EV (12-5-1) takes its latest shot at a state semifinal when it plays at home at 1 p.m. Saturday against West Valley (Yakima).

“They’re big and fast,” is EV coach Bill Wright’s succinct scouting report of the 17-0-1 Rams. WV’s tie came against 4A state-playoff team Kamiakin.

EV junior Malea Schumacher led the Frontier League in scoring, with 11 goals in six matches. Amy Lambert, Jessica Bowen, April Start and Ashley LeGrant were other top scorers in a balanced attack.

2A quarterfinals

High-flying Riverside (17-0), which has allowed two goals all year, takes on visiting East Valley (Yakima) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Chattaroy.

EV (12-4-2) is coming off an 8-0 state-seeding loss to Othello.

The Rams have scored 119 goals, with more than 20 from Larissa Mueller, Jamie Rizzuto and Tracy Koesel, and 10 or more from Brooke Donrquast, Bernice Stime and Kelly Ostby.

Boys 1A/B playoffs

St. George’s (15-0) puts its perfect record on the line at 6 p.m. Friday at Kennewick’s Lampson Field against District 5 No. 2 Wahluke.

Northwest Christian (11-4-2) follows with an 8 p.m. match against District 5 champ Sunnyside Christian.

The winners meet in a quarterfinal, 7:30 Saturday night at Lampson.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo