Bartlett grad Palmer finishes up successful career at Whitewater

Bartlett graduate Lisa Palmer's collegiate basketball career featured its fair share of ups and downs.

But in the end, Palmer's run on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team was a positive one.

Palmer, who recently finished up her senior season for the Warhawks, worked her way back from a torn ACL and a broken hand that took away about a year-and-a-half of her collegiate career. She suffered the knee injury sophomore year and the hand injury her junior year.

"With the ACL and the broken hand, I learned how to be a better teammate," said Palmer, a 5-foot-10 forward. "The injuries taught me patience. Being injured allowed me to see another side of the game and grasp what the coaches see sitting on the bench. I saw the same things the coaches were saying. The whole experience taught me patience and made me continue to work as hard as I could. You get what you put into it and it can be taken away at any time. I don't take anything for granted."

At the same time, Palmer also experienced the direct opposite on the spectrum as a member of Whitewater teams that took second and third in the nation in Division III her freshman and sophomore years, respectively.

"That's a very rare opportunity that doesn't usually come around," she said. "I definitely have big memories of that. That's something I thought about when I was looking for schools. I wanted something close to home, but I wanted a school that had a winning tradition and that's why I looked into Whitewater. I've made some great friendships here and I love our coaches."

Palmer wrapped up her final season at Whitewater by averaging 7.2 points per game and tied for first on the team in rebounding at 6.1 per game. Palmer shot .432 from the field and also had 32 steals.

In the team's loss to No. 10 Washington-St. Louis in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament, Palmer had 10 points and 7 rebounds. She finished her career tied for 13th on the program's all-time rebounding list. Whitewater finished the season 20-8.

"Offensively I was looking for my shot more," she said. "The coaches told me going into the year that I need to score more. I was a little unselfish before and at times too unselfish. I was getting rebounds and creating opportunities for my teammates and passing up shots to give my teammates open look. This year it was definitely a transition at first. I wasn't used to it (scoring more). I started off a little slow, but I finished strong toward the end of the year."

Palmer is studying integrated science and business at Whitewater. She will graduate in May and then plans on going to chiropractic school - she's looking at programs in Portland, Ore., and Florida.

"There is a history of back problems in my family," she said. "I saw how chiropractic treatment changed my mother's life and gave her a better quality of life."

Palmer interned last summer at Olympic Chiropractic in Bartlett.

"With the internship I saw how patients' lives were changed," she said. "I want to help improve people's quality of life and help them in any way I can."

Brown at North Dakota State: Elgin High product Kory Brown is a senior guard on the North Dakota State men's basketball team. North Dakota State lost earlier this week to South Dakota State in the Summit League championship game. North Dakota State was the first No. 5 seed to reach the championship game in 32 years.

Brown had 5 points in the game in 22 minutes of play. Through 33 games, Brown was averaging 10.4 points (third on the team) and 6.5 rebounds. Brown was shooting .488 from the field and .753 from the free-throw line and had made 14 three-pointers.

McGlone at Winona State: Streamwood alum Hannah McGlone had 6 points and 12 rebounds in Winona State's 85-84 overtime loss to Augustana College in the championship game of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament.

Despite the loss, Winona State still earned the No. 4 seed in the Central Region and will open NCAA Division III tournament play Friday against No. 5 seed Fort Hays State.

Coming into the week, McGlone, a 6-0 sophomore forward, was averaging 6.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, while shooting .556 from the field.

Cerda at Chicago State: Jessica Cerda, another Streamwood alum, finished up her redshirt-sophomore season on the Chicago State women's basketball team. Cerda played in 26 games this season and averaged 4.9 points per game and made 25 3-pointers.

During one four-game stretch this season, Cerda scored a season-high 16 points against Utah Valley and also had 15 points against Missouri-Kansas City, as well as a pair of 11-point efforts against Seattle and Cal State-Bakersfield.

Mike Miazga has been writing about sports in the Fox Valley for more than two decades. Email him at mjm890@gmail.com.