Carly Doyle had her right leg in a protective boot raised on the bench and a clipboard in her hand. It wasn’t exactly the position the Columbia Prep star expected to be in for the NYCAL championship.
“The most disappointing thing was I couldn’t play,” said the sophomore, who is using crutches. “I’d cut [my leg] off to play.”
She had to sit and watch her top-seeded Lions team fall 53-40 to rival and No. 2 Loyola in the NYCAL girls basketball Friday at CCNY.
Doyle landed hard, hit her head and saw her leg start bleeding a minute into her team’s semifinal win over Trevor Day on Wednesday. She suffered a slight concussion as well and did not return.
“She is a tough, tough kid and she was balling on the floor,” Columbia Prep coach Andy Chappell said. “I said, ‘This is serious.’”
Doyle, also a soccer star at the school, went to the Hospital for Special Surgery on Thursday morning thinking she would just be getting an MRI. She was eventually told he needed emergency surgery to treat acute compartment syndrome, when excess blood builds up around a muscle and cuts off blood flow. Doctors had to cut open the muscle and drain the blood. Had she not got had surgery, her muscles could have begun to deteriorate.
“I was freaking out,” Doyle said. “I honestly didn’t care that much about the surgery. It was more that I couldn’t play. It was the only thing I cared about.”
She is expected to get the boot off in three to four weeks and hopes to return to her Manhattan Soccer Club United travel team in the spring after some physical therapy. Her teammates carried on well without her for a half against Loyola (19-5), with whom they split two regular-season meetings, thanks to its seniors.
Penny Savryn scored 14 of her 21 points in the first half and had five 3-pointers in the game. Her hot shooting was the key to the Lions (16-7) hanging in early. Alanna Aurelien added 13 points.
“It’s easy for them to focus in on just Penny, who I still think played really well,” Chappell said.
The Lions trailed just 30-27 at the half, but watched Loyola open the second half on an 11-2 run to grab a 43-29 lead midway through the third quarter. It shut off Savryn and the Lions missed easy shots.
Columbia Prep still has another game by virtue of winning its first regular-season title in 17 years. The Lions visit defending NYSAISAA Class C champion Staten Island Academy 5 p.m. Wednesday in a state tournament play-in game.
“We have another chance to play like we know how to play, which is a lot better than I think we did in the second half,” Savryn said.
NON-LEAGUE
Archbishop Molloy 63, John F. Kennedy 45: Carolyn Gallagher scored 18 points and Sarah Duryea had 10 for Archbishop Molloy (17-8) in non-league. Nyasha Irizarry chipped in 10 boards. John F. Kennedy is 16-9.
IVY LEAGUE
Hackley 58, Horace Mann 25: Alexandra Coppola led all scorers with 26 points, including 15 in the third quarter, for Hackley (22-0) Thursday. Madison Gordon led Horace Mann (14-5) with eight points.
