Ankle sprained, not broken, for Hembera

CEDAR RAPIDS - The state's leading girls' basketball scorer is on the shelf for a while.

But apparently not for good.

Cedar Valley Christian all-stater Shelby Hembera suffered a 'badly sprained” ankle Friday night, Huskies Coach Craig Foote said Saturday morning.

'It could have been a lot worse,” Foote said. 'We're just thankful that it wasn't fractured.”

Foote said there is 'no timetable” for Hembera's return.

'We know she won't play Tuesday (against Bellevue Marquette),” he said. 'After that, I don't know. We could be looking at a week or two.”

Hembera was injured when she came down on a player's foot while coming down from a shot attempt midway through the first quarter of Friday's game at Easton Valley. The Huskies led, 31-30, at halftime, but eventually lost, 81-53.

A 6-foot senior, Hembera is leading the state in scoring for the second straight year. She's at 30.3 points per game this season and has scored 1,859 points throughout her career, a total that ranks 30th all-time among Iowa's five-on-five players.

Cedar Valley Christian is 7-4 and has seven games scheduled in the next new weeks.

Hembera has committed to play at Emmaus Bible College in Dubuque.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com