Kingma's Week of Pain

After four straight days of constant impact, Kristi Kingma's knees are battered and bruised, and the pain was so intense, the Jackson junior couldn't wait for the State 4A tournament to end.

TACOMA, Wash. - Anyone who has paid close attention to Jackson star Kristi Kingma at the Washington State 4A tournament this week has had to notice, in addition to the spectacular jump shot and otherwordly explosiveness, the mounting number of grimaces on her face. Saturday, for the first time they outnumbered her points as Kingma limped through a game for fifth place against Mount Tahoma.

Collisions like this have taken a toll on the
knees of Kristi Kingma (right)

When Kingma, a junior who already has committed to the University of Washington, fouled out on an offensive foul with 1:52 left in Jackson's 53-50 loss, it almost was a relief. The foul finally put her out of her misery. Her knees, particularly her right one, are a battered and bruised mess.

Kingma's knees have taken so much contact with the court, she was in obvious pain and barely was able to walk afterward.

"The whole game, I was like, 'I want this game to be over so bad,' " Kingma said.

Though Kingma was plagued with the pain throughout the tournament, Jackson placed (eighth) for the first time in school history. She managed to average 22.7 points in the Timberwolves' first three games, but had just nine against Mount Tahoma and averaged 19.3 in four games.

The 5-foot-9 Kingma is not just one of the state's leading scorers, and thus a marked player, she has an aggressive style at both ends of the floor. She said immediately after the game that her leg was numb from about the thigh to her shin. The injury is not expected to be serious and should abate with rest.

Kingma has tried knee pads in the past, but said, "it never made any difference."

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