It was just one point in a game where her team would score almost four dozen, but it was undoubtedly the most significant point of the Kingston Area Secondary Schools Athletic Association senior girls basketball season.
When the ball went through the hoop for Ashley Padvaiskis of the Regiopolis Notre Dame Panthers at 2:55 of the first quarter, it marked the end of an unbelievable adventure for Padvaiskis, who received a heart transplant just last summer.
“It was the highlight of our game,” wrote Panthers coach Lesley Stevenson, whose team, by the way, went on to defeat the visiting Ernestown Eagles 47-19.
Padvaiskis finished the game with 11 points.
Less than a year ago, Padvaiskis’ heart was attacked by a virus that eventually led to heart failure. A day after her sister was married in late July, Ashley got a call that a donor had been found.
“Ashley has worked hard with her family to keep her life as normal as possible, and through this whole ordeal has been nothing but positive and gracious,” Stevenson wrote, in an email.
“Ashley's comeback is nothing short of a miracle. She is an inspiration to all of her team and peers.”
The home-court win stretched Regi’s season-long unbeaten streak to nine games.
In Tuesday’s only other game, the Frontenac Falcons got back to .500 with a 45-30 home-court win over the Loyalist Lancers.
Play resumes Wednesday, when the Holy Cross Crusaders visit the Kingston Blues at 5 p.m.