GIRLS BASKETBALL: Barnwell’s return with ACL tear all for Indians

Published 5:40 pm Thursday, February 7, 2019

PORT NECHES — Harlee Barnwell might have felt the same way during a stretch of a home basketball game as she did during the 22 games she was sidelined with a torn ACL in her left knee.

With Port Neches-Groves’ first-ever playoff berth clinched in girls basketball, the Indians were battling District 21-5A rival Memorial on Jan. 29 in hopes of creating a first-place tie with the Lady Titans, who had won their previous meeting in Port Arthur.

“Seeing them all work well together, I knew I wanted to be a part of that more than anything,” Barnwell said. “It was killing me not to be, at the time.”

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PNG senior Harlee Barnwell on returning from an ACL tear earlier this season and classmate Chelsea Carrillo on Barnwell's return. / I.C. Murrell, The News

Posted by Port Arthur News Sports on Thursday, February 7, 2019

The 5-foot-8 senior center played more than a minute in the second quarter of her fifth game back before hobbling to the bench in pain. Her team still in the hunt for a championship, the senior center decided she wasn’t done for the night, let alone the season.

“The deal we kind of made was that if we were going to play her on an ACL that we weren’t going to be scared, that there wasn’t going to be that hesitation, that if she needed a break, we would give her a break, but we weren’t going to play scared,” second-year Indians head coach Kara Skinner said.

Barnwell was more heroic than scared in a close defeat. She completed a key three-point play late in regulation and made 4 of 4 free throws in overtime to tie a game Memorial eventually pulled out, 59-58.

“The mindset was that I needed to make these free throws for the school, to be either tied or down one,” Barnwell said. “I knew I had to do that for my team. I couldn’t think about my knee at that point.”

Barnwell, also a volleyball standout, had been thinking about her knee and what the near future held for her since tearing the ligament in a Nov. 13 game at Jasper. Doctors didn’t recommend that Barnwell return, she said, but she was allowed provided that she didn’t injure it worse.

Given PNG’s playoff berth, that surgery — which usually ends a player’s season — is on hold until the Indians play their last game.

Barnwell’s injury had a profound effect on her frontcourt teammate, senior Chelsea Carrillo.

“Me and Harley have been playing since seventh grade together,” Carrillo said. “When she hurt her knee, it was kind of just weird, like there was a gap. I didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel the same. But we had to pick it up for her.

“Now that she’s back, I feel whole, like our whole team originally was. It feels great to have her back. We’re glad to be teammates.”

Barnwell and Carrillo are rebounding machines on both ends of the court for the Indians (20-12, 8-4 in 21-5A), who wrapped up third place in the district and will take on Galveston Ball (18-10, 12-2 in 22-5A) at 6 p.m. Monday in the 5A bi-district round at Channelview. Barnwell pulled down six rebounds in a loss at Barbers Hill on Feb. 1 and seven in a home win over Vidor on Tuesday.

“That’s the thing that’s impressed me. How are you going to go in there and rebound on a torn ACL?” Skinner said. “She’s a good balance to Chelsea. That’s why it was a big blow when Chelsea went down.”

Said Carrillo: “She’s a strong presence on the court that we need, and I’m glad to have her back.”

I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews

About I.C. Murrell

I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

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