Effenberger signs with Angelo State (Basketball)
After tearing the ACL in both knees in a three-year span, Laci Effenberger of Ketchikan doesn’t take her basketball career for granted.
“When you get back you feel like it could be the last game you ever play,” she told me. “You’re grateful for the opportunity to be back on the court again.”
So you can understand how excited Effenberger is about signing a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Angelo State, a NCAA Division II school in Texas.
The 5-foot-7 guard was a First Team All-State selection as a junior at Ketchikan before moving to Oklahoma for her senior season. There, she played at Class 3A Sequoyah Tahlequah and averaged 17 points and 5 assists per game playing both point guard and shooting guard.
“I like to bring up the ball and I like being in control. But I also love to shoot. I love to shoot in people’s eye,” she said with a laugh. “When I came to Oklahoma I became the point guard. But we also had another little guard; she was quick and smart. If we needed to score, she could bring up the ball and I could take it in.”
But disaster struck Effenberger during the regional final, with a trip to the state tournament on the line. Sequoyah Tahlequah was up big when the Alaskan went down with a knee injury in the third quarter.
As soon as Effenberger vanished, so did the double-digit lead and the team’s state tournament hopes.
“We were up 20,” she said, her voice drifting. “We were on our way to state. We knew it. It was frustrating.”
Now she can take her frustrations out on Angelo State opponents.
She was recruited by the school in part because one of the assistants used to coach at Sequoyah Tahlequah.
“It just sort of fell into place,” Effenberger said.
Even though she will live in Texas, she says Alaska will forever be in her heart.
“Ketchikan will always be a part of my life,” Effenberger said. “I’ve grown up there my whole entire life. The community always supported me and I’ll always remember that.”
