Virginia High senior Chelsea Delapp suffered a major scare this past summer on the opening day of basketball camp in Chattanooga.
“I fell the wrong way and cracked the kneecap in my left leg,” Delapp said. “It was a very scary experience, especially coming into my senior year.”
After enduring intense rehab, the powerful 5-foot-10 Delapp has recovered in style.
Tuesday night, she collected 22 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and two steals as the Bearcats stopped the John Battle Trojans 69-47.
The extremely long game was marred by 44 fouls. Delapp carved out her spot in the low block and just kept converting.
“Chelsea is a special player,” VHS coach Mike Goforth said. “She’s really strong and just has a knack for getting the job done.”
Considering her injury, Delapp is simply happy to be playing.
“When the incident happened at camp, I was done with basketball until almost midway through our preseason,” Delapp said. “I had to go through X-rays and MRIs, and I was worried that I would end up having to have surgery.”
Delapp endured therapy for nearly two hours three times a week.
“That was tough to deal with mentally but I wanted to play,” Delapp said. “Some people were worried that I might not get to play at all, but I wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
One season ago at Battle, Delapp set a single-game VHS record with over 20 rebounds. She dominated the interior again Tuesday – on offense and defense.
“The knee actually came back together and mended on its own. I’m as strong as ever now and hoping to play in college next year,” Delapp said.
Northwood transfer Chelsey Cardwell scored 15 points in her debut for Virginia High (10-2, 2-0) debut while Morgan Whittemore added 12.
Brooke Rutherford paced Battle (5-10, 0-2) with 22 points.
Boys
Virginia High 57, Battle 46
The boys game, which did not end until well past 10 p.m. on a school night, saw VHS (12-2, 2-0) come from a 14-5 deficit behind Devon Clayton.
A creative and relentless post player, Clayton scored 21 points. Nick Howard (16 points) and Matt Kerlee (10) also reached double figures for the Bearcats.
VHS (12-2, 2-0) tied the score at 23-23 with 30 seconds left in the second quarter, and then held off several Battle rallies.
Matthew McMurray paced Battle (9-5, 0-2) with 15 points while Alex Posey added 11.
“Every game is a challenge, especially on the road in this district,” VHS coach Wayne Rasnick said. “Both teams played hard, but we minimized our mistakes in the end and Devon went to work in the paint.”
agregory@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports | (276) 645-2544.
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