Huffman’s Comeback Keys Special Season

News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – For senior Kyra Huffman, the CIF State Championship run by the St. Francis basketball team over the past three weeks has been memorable. But back in July, playing basketball was a faraway dream when her life became a scary nightmare.

“In the beginning we thought it was just a cold and I could play through it,” said Huffman of the illness that knocked her down in more ways than one. “It got progressively worse. I had never been in the hospital before. To spend 15 days in the ICU was probably the scariest thing I have ever been through.”

Huffman was diagnosed with viral meningitis and endured several spinal taps to drain the excess fluid to allow her body a chance to fight off what was infecting it.

“Having my parents look in my face and not knowing who they were was probably the scariest part,” said Huffman.

Entering her senior season in the best shape of her life, basketball was everything to her and she wanted to use the summer to get ready for her final season.

“We did not know what the situation was,” said Head Coach Vic Pitton. “Especially when she readmitted and spent so much time in the ICU, it was so devastating because she was in such good shape. To be debilitated by a disease like that is something I never had one of my players go through.”

With the support of her family and prayers from the St. Francis community, Huffman finally got better and had to start over.

“I was so tired and upset that everything I had worked for crumbled in my hands and I had to start over,” recalled Huffman after practice on Monday. “It was really difficult but I did it. I lost a lot of weight in the hospital and all the muscle I had worked on the past four years. Having to (build myself back up) in the first months of school and conditioning was really difficult.”

Huffman got to work in the same fashion she had before she was sidelined, determined to be ready for the start of the season in December.

“It took her a while and we had to wean her into it,” said Pitton. “She has such a big heart and determination. She did not want to back off at all and she wanted to push herself. It was the right formula but it was a matter of holding the reins a little on her. She was able to recover very well. By the beginning of the season she was ready to go.”

Huffman, who also is a standout goalie on the soccer pitch, was back for St. Francis when the season tipped off. She scored two points in the opener but still grabbed 12 boards. In the championship game of the Vista-Folsom Tipoff, she recorded a double-double with 18 points and hauled in a season-high tying 13 boards. She was back.

“She showed a great deal of character,” said Pitton. “She has rebounded back. It is a great testament to her family and the love and support they gave her. Her teammates were very supporting as well. We are very thankful and blessed she was able to recover. It was a very scary time.”

Huffman runs the floor with great enthusiasm, fueling a Troubadour transition game along with Lauren Craig that is fed by the SF guards that has pushed the team to within two wins of playing for the state championship.

“One of things I teach them is the team that makes more easy baskets typically wins the game,” said Pitton. “If we can run the floor with our bigs and get easy baskets, it makes the game easier. She has tremendous energy. She starts off the game that way and in the third quarter she is really amped to get on the court and has been fantastic in establishing our transition game.”

Huffman has averaged a career-high 13.2 points per game this season, scoring in double figures in 27 games, including 22 straight at one point. She had a season-high 23 points against Liberty and tallied 20 in a win over Davis at Sleep Train Arena.

She hopes to get another shot on the Kings floor, the site of the next two potential games for the team.

“This is pretty special,” said Huffman, who plans to play either basketball or soccer in college. “This is a special team and I am really glad I could be part of it.”

St. Francis takes on Menlo-Atherton on Tuesday with a berth in the Nor Cal finals on the line.

“We have to keep up our fast pace and our intensity and it can push us over the edge,” said Huffman.

For someone who has been to the edge, Huffman is ready for the final climb.