Eighteen months later, Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage makes her WSU debut

After a year and a half away from the court due to two surgeries on her knee, Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage made her return to basketball in Wichita State’s 63-45 exhibition victory over Oklahoma Christian on Tuesday night at Koch Arena.

The 6-foot-2 freshman forward from Santa Fe, N.M. came off the bench to score six points and log three rebounds and four steals in 20 minutes as the Shockers wrapped up their non-conference slate against a Division-II opponent.

Wichita State will open Missouri Valley Conference play on Friday at Indiana State.

“It felt good to be out there again,” said Lozada-Cabbage, who hadn’t played in a competitive game since June 2014. “I haven’t played in so long. My team really helped me get out there and hyped me up. It felt good.”

Lozada-Cabbage tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee the summer after winning a high school state championship in New Mexico. She figured she would be ready to play once arriving in Wichita, but she required a second surgery in June to repair cartilage in the knee.

That prevented her from making her debut until Tuesday when Lozada-Cabbage and coach Jody Adams agreed she was ready to play again.

A minute after stepping onto the court for the first time in 18 months, Lozada-Cabbage established position deep in the paint and Marija Pacar found her with the entry pass as Lozada-Cabbage turned and scored for her first points of her college career.

She’s done that plenty of times before, but Lozada-Cabbage said it was a relief to know she can still perform after the surgeries.

“It was a great birthday present for me to see somebody who works as hard as she does on the sidelines and the time she puts into rehab, to see her be so productive in the minutes she had,” said Adams, who was celebrating her birthday Tuesday. “She gave this team a presence in the low block tonight.”

Lozada-Cabbage said working closely with Adam Ringler, the team’s strength and conditioning coach, and Erin Hicks, the team’s athletic trainer, was crucial in her comeback.

“I wasn’t used to sitting out, especially in high school,” Lozada-Cabbage said. “It took a lot of mental toughness to get through all of my rehab. You have to take it step by step. But I had a lot of support coming here and it really helped me get back out there.”

While Rangie Bessard, who feasted on Oklahoma Christian with scoring 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting and four blocks in 22 minutes, remains the team’s top option in the post, the return of Lozada-Cabbage gives Adams another option in the post.

“For her to be out there tonight, it was a blessing for this team and it was a sight to see,” Bessard said. “She works so hard and I’m so proud of her. I can’t wait to celebrate with her tonight.”

Wichita State overwhelmed Oklahoma Christian with its athleticism in the first half, scoring the game’s first 11 points and building a 38-20 lead by halftime.

There wasn’t much to take away from the second half, besides a hot streak from TaQuandra Mike (18 points), as WSU reverted to sloppy play and made several careless mistakes in racking up 33 turnovers against a Division-II opponent.

But forcing 27 turnovers of their own and holding Oklahoma Christian to 27-percent shooting was enough for the Shockers.

“Our practice habits have to be better and more consistent, so that will roll over into games,” Adams said. “Right now with a young team, those practice habits are where you see that fluctuation go up and down.”

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 10:20 PM with the headline "Eighteen months later, Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage makes her WSU debut."