Gabi Morales

Intro Gabi Morales (#44) slowly blinked her eyes open, the world around her a blur of bright lights and shadows. Her head throbbed as she tried to sit up, but the pain in her knee was overwhelming. The last thing she remembered was charging the basket, taking the hit, and then… darkness. She was back in the locker room now, the sound of voices’ muffled, their movements slow and distant. A few minutes passed before she felt the cool weight of an ice pack on her knee, and the realization of what had happened hit her hard—she’d been knocked out cold. The game against the Boston Novas had turned brutal in the first half. Gabi, always one to play with intensity, had been running the floor, fighting for position when Boston’s power forward took an elbow to the chest. Gabi had braced herself, but she hadn’t expected the hard collision to send her to the ground with such force. She was unconscious as they carted her off the court, a team of medical staff and trainers following behind. Now, as she sat, staring at the floor of the locker room, she saw Imani Carter (#21) taking her spot on the court on the tv screen. The young forward had filled in admirably, using her speed and agility to get into position, but Gabi couldn’t help the burning frustration in her chest. It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy for Imani, it was that she knew her own time on the court was slipping away. Coach Langston came in a few moments later, her expression serious. “How you feelin’?” Gabi looked at her coach, struggling to hide the mix of anger and helplessness. “My knee feels like it’s on fire.” “You’ll heal,” Coach said firmly. “You’ll be out a few weeks. Work on what you can while you’re off the floor. And when you return, you’ll be ready to take that starting spot again.” Gabi nodded, though her heart still burned with the desire to get back out there. She’d have to do it the hard way now—recovery, rehab, and watching from the sidelines as someone else took her place.