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Lansdale Catholic's Herd fights back again from knee injury

Before each game, Taylor Herd walks with her teammate Abby Ward to half-court. There the duo is met by their Lansdale Catholic girls' basketball coach, Joe Mack, as well as the captains and coaches of their opponent.

Lansdale Catholic senior Taylor Herd.
Lansdale Catholic senior Taylor Herd.Read moreMark C Psoras / For the Inquirer

Before each game, Taylor Herd walks with her teammate Abby Ward to half-court. There the duo is met by their Lansdale Catholic girls' basketball coach, Joe Mack, as well as the captains and coaches of their opponent.

"Make sure you take out your earrings," the warning comes from one of the officials. Then they look at one another and laugh.

It's an interaction that has happened often for Herd, a senior for the Crusaders.

In her No. 35 uniform, with her hair pulled up in a ponytail, a black Nike headband and two pairs of socks - she wears green ones over a white pair to "break it up a bit" - Herd looks every bit the part of an imposing basketball player.

Except for the earrings; the earrings give her away.

A captain, Herd has been out with an injury all season long, and unfortunately it's a feeling the guard has had before.

As a sophomore - her first year at L.C. - Herd led the Catholic League in scoring, a season highlighted by an impressive, 33-point performance against Neumann-Goretti. Her dynamic style injected excitement into the program and made the Crusaders a team to watch, a group of young kids ready to make their mark in a league full of powerhouses.

"There were times when I was coaching and you almost turn into a fan," Mack said. "You just appreciate how well she played, and then when she did some of the things she did on the offensive end you kind of forget you're coaching."

Lansdale Catholic was on the rise, and everyone was talking about Herd, but in June before her junior season, she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee.

She was out for the season, and subsequently the excitement and expectations dwindled. "There's always senior year," dominated the conversation surrounding her.

Herd rehabbed and got herself ready for the following summer, and just as she felt like she was back to playing the way she had before the injury, it was July of her senior year and she was in Chicago.

There, the unthinkable happened. She tore the same ACL again.

"Emotionally, it took a big toll, and mentally too," Herd said. "All this time I was preparing for my senior high school season - I had a lot of personal and team goals, too."

Mack was at a Foo Fighters concert when she told him via text message, while Quinnipiac coach Tricia Fabbri was on her way to Chicago to see Herd - a Bobcats recruit - play.

"We were disappointed for her, but it didn't faze us," Fabbri said. "It never, ever for one second crossed my mind about her scholarship."

"She's going to get back on the horse and really work hard to get back where she was," Fabbri added. "She'll be stronger because of the adversity and challenge."

Throughout the ordeal, Herd has remained wildly positive, citing her family and her faith as reasons she has never felt sorry for herself during the trying time.

Her energy never wanes throughout games, and Herd is visibly engrossed on the bench as she cheers on her teammates and is the first to dole out high fives. It's the same liveliness she'd display if she was on the court too, she says.

"You never complain about a practice, a workout anymore," Herd said. "It's a humbling experience, as far as not taking anything for granted. It reminds you of the passion you have for the game. Sitting out, you see how much you miss it."

This July, Herd will head to Quinnipiac for summer classes and training before the season starts in October. She'll get used to the campus, college life, and playing with former AAU rivals - like Paige Warfel (Downingtown East) - as teammates.

The uniform will be different and the sock combination will have to change.

As for the earrings, they'll be off. No one will have to remind her.