East Stroudsburg South guard Layla Hernandez suffers season-ending injury
Layla Hernandez was 96 points away from 1,000 for her career, but she will not reach it as the East Stroudsburg South senior guard tore her ACL in late December, her father confirmed. She will have surgery Jan. 10.
Hernandez was the only returning Eastern Pennsylvania Conference All-Star from the North Division. The Cavaliers will have to complete the rest of the season without their best player.
"When I went up for a block against Bethlehem Catholic, the girl came down on my knee, and I heard a pop," Hernandez said about the injury. "I honestly cried when I got the news because I thought, 'My season's over,' and I couldn't reach my goal of 1,000. But all I had to do was stay positive."
More: ES North boys, ES South girls win in basketball doubleheader. See photos here
Her team did give her something to be optimistic about: a 42-31 victory over rival East Stroudsburg North on the road, giving the Cavaliers their second win of the season.
"It definitely put us on our heels when Layla went down," South head coach Carly Gallagher said after the game. "Losing her, then getting our butts kicked, going 0-4. And it's nothing like a confidence boost to show the kids, 'Hey, we can do this.'
Even though Hernandez won't be on the court, she still plans to support the team any way she can, giving her teammates "all of my support, my energy, screaming at the top of my lungs and anything else I can do for them."
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: ES South loses EPC All-Star to a season-ending injury
