Enjoying The Road To Recovery

Here’s all you need to know about how Portland senior point guard Haylee Andrews approaches her basketball career.

Andrews tore her ACL last February 3 and had knee surgery that required nine months of intense rehabilitation.

How was that experience?

“It was fun,” she said.

Rehab for major knee surgery has been described in vivid terms by countless athletes, but who in their right mind has ever termed it fun? 

“I call it fun,” Andrews explained, “in the sense that I knew I could put in that work to get myself back to where I am today.”

Now, where she is today . . . that’s fun.

Andrews, who returned to action 10 games ago, has helped direct the Pilots (12-5 overall) to an undefeated start to the West Coast Conference schedule. That sets up an early showdown between teams tied for the league’s top spot at 6-0 when No. 20 Gonzaga (16-2) visits the Chiles Center on Saturday. Tipoff is 5 p.m.

Conquering the Zags won’t be easy. The defending WCC champs were the unanimous pick to win the WCC title again this season and, if anything, they may be better than we thought.

Gonzaga has won nine straight since a road loss to No. 2 Stanford, and leads the WCC in most points scored and fewest allowed. Junior Yvonne Ejim (16.4 points, 8.3 rebounds) is one of the WCC’s best frontcourt players, senior transfer Brynna Maxwell leads the nation in 3-point accuracy (52.1 percent) and free-throw percentage (98.1), and senior point guard Kaylynne Truong (16.1 points, 5.2 assists) has elevated her game in the absence of twin sister Kayleigh, who has been shelved by injury since late November.

But the Pilots have improved each season under fourth-year coach Michael Meek, and they are rolling right now as well.

They are 6-0 in the WCC for the first time since the 1996-97 season and their seven-game win streak is their longest since 2009-10. Both of those achievements coincide with the return of Andrews, a two-time All-WCC player from Australia. 

She has found her rhythm the past six games, averaging 13.7 points and 8.7 assists. And she dished a program-record 14 assists in the Pilots’ 77-48 win over San Francisco last Saturday.

“I think I’ve done pretty well, all things considered,” she said this week. “Each game from when I first came back, I have more confidence growing. Coming into conference I’m starting to feel like I’m my old self again.”

Andrews’ value to the Pilots is starkly apparent in the team’s win-loss record the past two seasons. Portland is 22-6 with Andrews on the floor, 10-10 without her.

Meek knew Andrews would return strong from the injury.

“With some athletes, you’re just not sure how they’re going to come back from that. In my mind it was never in question because she just attacks everything,” he said. “Her willingness to get all the rehab right, she’s just done an awesome job with that. She has a fearlessness about her. She’s done a great job from the start.”

Andrews benefited from the experience of her father and brother, who went through surgery and rehab for ACL injuries suffered playing Australian rules football. “If your brother can do it, you can do it, too,” her dad, Shane Andrews, told her.

She also gives substantial credit to trainer Max Munson and strength coach Bryant Ferate, who provided guidance, encouragement and motivation.

As much as Andrews embraced the work, she had her moments. “Some days were so repetitive I didn’t want to go in and do rehab,” she said. “But it was one of those things where I’d feel worse if I didn’t do it.”

The payoff is now. Andrews, who hopes to play professionally back home in Australia next year, is second on Portland’s career chart with 525 assists. The program recordholder with 639 assists is Kathy Adelman (1989-93).

Meek stressed that Andrews’ value goes far beyond the numbers. “Without a doubt, her leadership qualities is where I’d start,” he said. “Her ability to spy things out and communicate that to her teammates because she has such a high basketball IQ.”

Andrews also has a nice team around her. Fellow Aussie Alex Fowler, a fourth-year junior forward, leads the WCC in scoring (17.6 points) and  field-goal accuracy (64.7 percent), and has climbed to third on Portland’s career scoring list with 1,861 points. “The great thing about her,” Meek said,  “is she just keeps finding new things get better at.”

Sophomore guard Emme Shearer, who has doubled her scoring average of 5 points from a year ago, put up a career-high 21 vs. USF. Maisie Burnham, another sophomore guard, is averaging 11 points per game.

Lucy Cochrane, a 6-foot-6 junior whose 3.9 blocked shots per game led the nation a year ago, remains sidelined after eight games with a foot injury. Sophomore guard MJ Bruno (ankle) also is on the shelf, although Meek expects both back sometime this season.

Meek, who called Gonzaga “an elite team,” said he’s encouraged by how his program has developed since his debut in 2019-20, when the Pilots stunned top-seeded Gonzaga in the semifinals of the WCC Tournament and went on to win the event after being picked last in the preseason coaches poll. That was also Portland’s only victory over the Zags in their past 28 meetings.

“I do think we’ve gotten better every year,” he said, suggesting the team’s ability to weather injuries this season is a sign of progression. “We’re excited to be in a place where we can play them when both teams are 6-0,” he said. 

For Andrews, considering where she was 11 months ago, this is likely a date circled on her calendar.

“It’s super exciting,” she said. “Obviously, the battle of the top, both of us 6-0 and coming in with a whole week to prepare. Saturday almost couldn’t come any sooner.”