It'll be lucky seven when Kady Dandeneau takes to the UNBC basketball court tonight when the Timberwolves women line-up against the Vancouver Island Mariners.
Dandeneau has played six games - three exhibition and three PACWEST regular season - in her comeback from major knee surgery in June 2010.
"Now I'm back and totally fine," said the T-wolves guard. "My knee's great."
The T-wolves' top scorer in 2010, Dandeneau suffered a minor setback during the opening weekend when she tweaked her hamstring, but after putting up 16 points on Friday, Nov. 25 in UNBC's 81-59 win at Quest University it appears she's back on track.
"Right now, I think everyone's given my a lot of slack because I haven't played for a while," said the product of Pender Island. "They don't expect me to jump right back to where I was, but I'm fully prepared to get back to exactly where I was, if not better."
It's that hardworking, competitive attitude T-wolves head coach Loralyn Murdoch loves, but at the same time would like to reel in at times.
"Her expectations on herself are higher and she's harder on herself than I'll ever be," said Murdoch. "I don't need her to be the top scorer; I need her to compete, rebound and be a team player. That's where we're going to have our battles. She's very, very tough on herself. I just need her to be a team player and do what she can to help us win."
Dandeneau first injured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on Jan. 23, 2010.
"I got a steal and I was coming down the floor on a two-on-one with Mercedes [Van Koughnett] and the [defender] went to take a charge on me so I started going around her and she just kind of stepped out and pushed me and I just fell wrong," said Dandeneau. "It really hurt a lot. It was a lot of pain. I tried to get up, usually I don't like sitting. I couldn't do it and just sort of fell over and got helped off."
She took about three weeks off to heal her knee, returning for the T-wolves' final two regular-season games, but during a practice for the provincial finals her knee gave out as she was cutting through the key. Dandeneau had surgery to repair her ACL in June 2010 and spent last season recovering.
"It was probably one of the hardest things I had to do," said Dandeneau. "It was nice to be able to at least be there for them for moral support and as a cheerleader."
After a second surgery last summer, Dandeneau returned to full practices with the T-wolves, but after six games she still believes she has a lot of work to do.
"I don't like turning the ball over a lot, which I do, but it's getting a lot better," she grimaced. "The team's been great with me. They give me a lot of leeway."
Dandeneau and the rest of her T-wolves' teammates will be on the Northern Sport Centre court tonight at 6:30 p.m. when they put their 4-0 record on the line against the 5-0 Mariners. The UNBC men hit the hard court at 8:30 against the Mariners as they try to rebound from their first loss of the season last Saturday at Capilano University.
Murdoch said it's exciting to have Dandeneau back on the floor.
"Hopefully, she can regain that game shape physique she knows," said Murdoch.
