Ustowska grateful to be playing basketball after serious injury

Jan. 11—LARAMIE — Junior guard Ola Ustowska would probably be the first to admit the start to her 2022-23 season has been far from perfect.

But after suffering a season-ending and potentially career-threatening injury last year, the product of Kartuzy, Poland, is grateful to be back in the lineup and making contributions to the team again.

"(I've) been progressively getting better, both mentally and physically," Ustowska said.

Ustowska joined the Cowgirls for her freshman season in 2020 after competing at the FIBA under-18 European Championships in 2019. She played in 24 games for the Cowgirls in her freshman season, coming off the bench in each one of them. She averaged 3.5 points and 1.2 rebounds per game while playing 14 minutes per game.

In her sophomore season, Ustowska started to come into her own. She nearly doubled her season average in points from the year prior, shooting up to 6.1 points per game on 45% shooting from the field. She also led the team in 3-point percentage, shooting at 43.2% from beyond the arc.

She set a new career high with 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting against Gonzaga. Ustowska also made her first start that same month.

"We talked about it behind closed doors as a staff, but she had a chance to be sixth player of the year for us last year because of the season she was having," Cowgirls coach Heather Ezell said.

But two games after her first career start, disaster struck. At the tail end of UW's game against Air Force, Ustowska came down from a rebound and awkwardly fell to the ground. When the dust settled, she found out she had torn both her ACL and meniscus, ending her season.

The injury was tough on her, from both a physical and mental perspective. She fell in love with the game when she was 5 years old, and said not being able to play for so long was like having her heart ripped out.

In the weeks and months following the injury, Ustowska's confidence that she would one day return to the game she loved never wavered. Even when rehab days got tough, she never truly believed the injury she suffered would keep her out forever.

"There were obviously some bad days (where I thought I wouldn't play again)," she said. "(However,) the doctors always said I was progressing. There were no setbacks, and that is what I am grateful for."

When recovering from a serious injury, every athlete has a frustrating part of their rehab process. Ustowska's frustrations came with not being able to help her teammates during the latter half of their season after her injury.

"I would be like, 'Oh, I would like to go in and help them (during games) and help bring them up,'" Ustowska said. "All I could do was be on the bench and be the best teammate I could be."

Ustowska sat out most of the off-season and preseason workouts, rehabbing her injury, and played just 12 minutes during the preseason exhibitions. During the early part of the season, readjusting to the speed of the game proved to be a challenge. The team likes to play fast, and being out of the game for nine months didn't help her get readjusted as fast as she would have liked.

Her first two games of the season were rocky, as she failed to score against North Dakota or Gonzaga. Against Denver, however, things started to turn. Ustowska finished the game shooting 50% from the floor, and recorded 10 points.

"When she made her first 3 tonight, I could see the relief in her face," sophomore forward Allyson Fertig said after the game. "She was a big help off the bench last year, but we want her in the game because she is a good shooter. It is good to see her back."

One week later, against Montana State, Ustowska had her best performance of the season. She finished the game with nine points and a team-high six assists. During the first half, when the team was struggling to get going, Ustowska provided a spark off the bench that helped kick the Cowgirls into gear. Her scoring tapered off a bit in the second half, but she continued to help set up her teammates.

"That is the Ola that we saw before her injury," Ezell said. "She is getting back, she is getting confident, and you love to see that."

That game served as a confidence booster for the junior guard, who went on to have good games against New Mexico Highlands and Kansas City over the course of the next nine days.

"I felt like the old me again in that game," Ustowska said. "It gave me a lot of confidence, and showed me that I can play well against good teams."

The emergence of players like Tess Barnes and Emily Mellema have made minutes tough to come by, but Ustowska still remains a threat coming off the bench for the Cowgirls. Regardless of her injury, she is still a dangerous threat from the 3-point line that teams will continue to respect.

Matt Atencio covers Laramie County prep sports for WyoSports. He can be reached at matencio@wyosports.net. Follow him on Twitter at @MattAtencio5.