By Jennifer Toland, Telegram & Gazette (Worcester)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - In an early-season practice drill, Bridgewater State fifth-year senior forward Megan Boutilette was going in for a layup when she was tripped by someone and almost fell to the floor.
Her teammates stopped and, with a collective gasp, gathered around her.
"You could tell the whole team almost had a heart attack for me," Boutilette said.
Boutilette, the former Shepherd Hill Regional star from Charlton, was making great progress in her recovery from a serious knee injury that cut short her 2013-14 season, and the Bears did not want their leader to have any setbacks.
"I was like, 'No, it's fine. My knee is fine. Everything is great,'" Boutilette recalled this week. "That was one of the first moments I was like, 'OK, I can do this. I won't break.'"
Boutilette, who tore the ACL and MCL in her right knee during the eighth game of last season, came back to earn All-MASCAC first-team honors and lead Bridgewater State to its fifth straight NCAA Division 3 Tournament appearance.
The Bears (16-10) will play at Salisbury (Maryland) in a first-round game Friday.
Bridgewater State beat Westfield State, 60-57, to capture the MASCAC title. Senior guard Rachel Kusz of Worcester hit the winning 3-pointer with 37 seconds to play. Boutilette fouled out with about nine minutes left, so she watched the late drama from the bench.
"It was amazing," she said. "I was devastated that I let the team down, but we didn't give up. We knew we could do it. We pulled it out and it was amazing."
Boutilette, the Bears' all-time leader in rebounds (899), steals (338), field goal percentage (.534) and games played (110), was having "the game of my life" against Amherst in December 2013. She scored 20 points in the first half and wasn't letting up. Looking to go in for two more, she cut down the lane and had just got the ball when she felt a snap in her knee.
"I remember falling down," she said. "I knew it was something bad."
Adding to her emotion was the fact she thought her career was over.
"It was crushing," said Boutilette, who had never missed a game for the Bears.
About a month later, though, she found out she would be eligible for a medical redshirt and a fifth season.
"I was so excited," she said. "I wanted to do whatever I could to get back."
Following surgery, Boutilette made a rather rapid recovery, rebuilding her strength and flexibility, running and finally returning to action Dec. 2. She came off the bench and scored 10 points in a win over UMass-Dartmouth.
"I had to get back to trusting my knee again and exploding off it," Boutilette said. "Once I was comfortable knowing I could do certain things, I was fine."
Boutilette enters the NCAAs averaging 11.7 points, 9 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 1.6 blocked shots. She led the MASCAC and ranks sixth in Division 3 in steals.