Knee injury to sideline Penn-Trafford’s Aunkst for season

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, January 13, 2018 | 10:21 PM

The Penn-Trafford girls basketball team has been dealing with injuries all season.

But the latest player to be sidelined will be hard to replace.

Senior point guard Mackenzie Aunkst sustained a torn left ACL injury in the third quarter of a game against Fox Chapel on Tuesday. She is scheduled for season-ending surgery within the next two weeks.

“She made a basketball play when the injury occurred. You can't replace a player like Mackenzie,” said Penn-Trafford coach John Giannikas, who confirmed the injury and surgery. “She's probably the best point guard in the WPIAL. Other players will need to adjust their roles.”

Aunkst was the team's leading scorer with a 10.5-points-per-game average and also averaged 3.9 assists. She helped Penn-Trafford to a WPIAL Class 6A girls soccer title in the fall and signed a letter of intent to play soccer at West Virginia.

Sophomore Sarah Nguyen, who also played soccer, will assume Aunkst's role and Giannikas said others players like sophomore Bella Long will have to step up.

Penn-Trafford defeated Fox Chapel, but Aunkst's absence was noticed in the first half of Friday's 42-31 loss to Hempfield.

“Hempfield made some tough shots early,” Giannikis said. “But we started slow. No one is going to feel badly for us. It will be an adjustment for the team.”

Penn-Trafford (2-3, 6-6) also is dealing with injuries to Rachel Casper (hand) and Raeghan Panza (wrist). Giannikis is hopeful both guards will return soon.

“We hope to hang in the playoff race and make a run later in the season,” Giannikis said.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Penn-Trafford