Syracuse womens basketball forward Lina Lisnere seemed to finally reach her destination. After a long and winding road of rehabbing from a broken shin several months ago, she returned to the basketball court.

But then her story took another unfortunate twist.

Days before the exhibition part of SUs basketball schedule began, Lisnere broke her foot during a practice. The sophomore from Latvia had been preparing to be in game condition for months when she made an awkward step that caused the accident. Its been a discouraging first two years for Lisnere. She has sat out 31 games due to leg injuries since arriving at Syracuse, and each step forward seems to bring another step back.

Lisnere is healthy now, though, and she and the Orange (8-12, 2-5 Big East) will take on South Florida (14-5, 4-2) in the Carrier Dome at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.

After fracturing her foot in October, Lisnere did not get discouraged, and she made her long-awaited comeback against Binghamton on Dec. 31. Since returning, shes averaged 3.9 points and 4.3 rebounds.Lisnere admitted it has been difficult having to watch her team from the sidelines while they struggled underneath without the 6-foot-3-inch forward.

Its probably the toughest thing ever, Lisnere said. I was right there with them until two days and I think that was especially hard for me to get hurt two days before the first game.

SU head coach Quentin Hillsman called the loss of the Oranges second-tallest player a major setback to the teams season as Hillsman was forced to start a smaller, less-experienced lineup for most of the first half of the year. Lisneres foot injury made her the fourth player of at least 6-foot on SU to start the season on the bench due to injury.

Its great to have her back, Hillsman said. The only thing right now is shes not totally healthy. Shes still playing a little banged up, but just to have her back on the floor a player with the type of experience playing internationally and having big game experience I think she helps us a lot.

Lisnere agreed she has not felt 100 percent on the court yet. Still, she believes she has become a stronger person because of all she has had to endure over her first two seasons at Syracuse she also missed nine games her freshman year due to another foot injury.

Injuries caused Lisnere to miss more games than just the 31 contests at Syracuse. Over the summer, she decided to forgo her last chance to play for Latvias youth national team. She discussed the option of playing with Hillsman, her coaches in Latvia and her doctors, but ultimately the decision came down to how healthy she felt.

It was pretty tough, Lisnere said. The national team is something you look forward to play for. Its always lots of fun. Its a great experience and you play very good European teams. Our team was great and we had a chance to play well. But sometimes you have to make a decision and sometimes none of the options are very favorable.The player probably most pleased to see Lisnere back in the starting five is Lithuanian-born center Vaida Sipaviciute. Off the court, the two players relate through their European heritage. They often joke about visiting each other the next time they both travel to their homelands, since its about a three hour drive between the two countries.

On the court, Sipaviciute displays enthusiasm to have one of the teams most versatile players back down in the paint.We needed her since day one, Sipaviciute said. She can shoot. She can drive. She can do all the little things.

Against the Bulls on Sunday, Lisnere plans to focus on the little things as she continues to mend her foot while trying to adjust to the pace of Division I basketball again.

Nonetheless, she knows that simply being out there on the court again indicates a positive sign about her basketball future.Of course I feel very happy to be playing, Lisnere said. But its going to take time to come back and play better. But the fact Im playing is always good for me.

Published on January 25, 2007 at 12:00 pm