‘SHE’S STILL ALIVE’

 
A first-team All-Sixth Region pick last year, the 5-foot-7 Deckard is on her way to repeating the honor as a senior. She averages a teambest 15.9 points and 4.5 assists for the Cougars (21-7) and might even play in college — Indiana Universi­ty Southeast and Spalding Univer­sity are showing interest.

But on Oct. 24, there was some concern about whether the 17-year-old Deckard would even be able to play this season. Driving home from Wal-Mart,Deckard was involved in a head-on collision on Third Street Road in southwest Jef­ferson County.

The other car’s driver, 27-year-old Melissa Walker, was pronounced dead at the scene. According to a police report, witnesses saw Walker’s 2001 Mazda cross the center line and collide with Deckard’s 1998 Toyota.

Deckard was taken to Kosair Children’s Hospital with several bone bruises to her right leg. Police told Deckard the results could have been much worse had she not been wearing her seat belt.

It’s a message Holy Cross coach Fred Copass frequently uses when teaching his health classes at the school.

“I tell them, ‘We have a student­athlete that’s still with us because she used her seat belt,’ ” Copass said. “She would have gone through that wind­shield. … Those kids see her and she’s beat up a little, but she’s still alive.”

And Deckard is taking advantage — although there have been struggles.  She was released from the hospital the night of the accident and returned to school two days later, but she faced three weeks of physical ther­apy. Most of the damage was the result of Deckard slam­ming on her brakes during the accident.
“It was driving me nuts not being able to play,” she said.

Even though Copass ini­tially figured Deckard wouldn’t be available until Christmas, she played in the Dec. 4 season opener against Whitefield Academy and scored 27 points.

But with her right leg still bothering her, Deckard be­gan favoring it and suffered a bone chip in her left ankle. That injury forced her to miss all four games in the Pleasure Ridge Park Lady Panther Winter Classic held Dec. 18-20.

She returned to the line­up Dec. 27 against Owens­boro and hasn’t missed a game since. She scored a ca­reer- high 31 points on Jan. 15 against Spencer County and has scored 27 points in three other games this season.

All of this while playing at about “80 percent” efficien­cy because of the injuries, she said.

“She was a little quicker last year, and she probably gets a little more winded now,” senior teammate Oli­via Moore said. “But that’s understandable. … She still comes out and contributes a lot.”

Added Copass: “She’s a lot quicker than what she shows now. But she’s a cou­rageous little girl. She’s played with a lot of pain. I just wish she could have played her senior year at 100 percent.”

But Deckard’s coaches and parents weren’t just con­cerned about her physical well-being after the acci­dent. There also was con­cern with how she’d deal mentally with a fatal crash.

“It was really hard finding out,” Deckard said of learning about Walker’s death. “I was sad because I didn’t want anybody to get hurt. That could have been me. … It took at least a week to get it all together. I just thank God that I have good friends and family who helped me get through it.”

Deckard’s mother, Joyce, said her daughter rarely talks about the accident.

“I think just because of her age, it made it a little easi­er to handle,” Joyce Deckard said. “I was a wreck, because I’m a parent and I know somebody else lost their daughter. Her biggest deter­mination was to get back on that basketball court as fast as she could.”

Her play has helped the Cougars accomplish big things, including their first 20-win campaign since the 2002-03 season. They also reached the All “A” Classic state final for the first time since 1996, losing to Newport Central Catholic.

Now Deckard is hoping to lead Holy Cross to a Sixth Region title and their first trip to the Girls’ Sweet 16 since 1995.

If the Cougars get there, a seat belt will have played a major role.

“It’s always been a pet peeve of mine,” Deckard said. “My friends know they have to wear their seat belts with me.

“ … If my story says any­thing, it’s, ‘Wear seat belts.’ ”

Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046.