ALISON Ebzery had run the play "one million times before".
But for whatever reason her lay-up, in the closing stages of a dramatic win over the weekend, didn't go to plan.
The Newcastle Hunters player was delivered the "devastating" news on Tuesday that she had ruptured her ACL and would now miss the rest of the Waratah League season.
Ebzery, 23, faces knee surgery and a potential 12-month stint on the sidelines.
"I've ruptured my ACL so it's pretty devastating," Ebzery told the Newcastle Herald.
"It was in the last five seconds, the last play. I was going for a lay-up. I went up for the shot and my knee just buckled. It was such a freak thing. I've done it one million times before, but somehow this happened."
Ebzery's replacement Elle Carroll sunk the ensuing free throws, awarded from a foul during the same play she was injured, as the Hunters edged out the previously undefeated Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence by one point (58-57) in Newcastle on Saturday night.
The former WNBL player, who was part of the Townsville Fire squad in 2019, admits "this one hit me hard and is a tough one to swallow".
"I've been pretty lucky throughout my career not to miss more than a couple of weeks at a time," she said.
"I've done ankles 100 times but never anything that would sit me out for a year."
It comes after a rare personal milestone for Ebzery, teaming up in Newcastle with older sister and Olympic-bound Katie.
"The last time we played together was 2016 when Katie played a handful of games before the Olympics," she said.
"It's always a very special moment when we hit the court together. Being seven years apart and Katie playing all over the world, it was a very rare occurrence she was in Newcastle and her schedule allowed her to suit up."
Ebzery said she will be "screaming from the sidelines" for the Hunters as they continue their state campaign in 2021.
The 2019 women's champions, who went down to the Canberra Nationals at home on Sunday, host rivals Maitland on July 3.
