Fayetteville’s Canik Calls it a Career

Injury has prompted Amber Canik to abandon her college basketball career.

The Fayetteville High School graduate said she decided in mid-December not to stay on the Texas Wesleyan University women’s basketball team.

The 5-foot-8 freshman guard did not recover from September knee surgery, the fourth since prior to her senior year. She did not play in the lone game before the winter break.

“It’s definitely not how I expected it to go,” she said. “I feel like my body’s had enough.”

Canik’s initial surgery was for a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered while playing summer ball before her senior year. She then had surgeries for a staph infection and removal of excess scar tissue, she said.

The September surgery was necessary after she reinjured the knee, and she tried to come back. Yet she couldn’t even complete the conditioning and rehab. “I physically couldn’t do anymore,” she said.

She was supposed to be medically cleared for this month, she said, but three doctors examined the knee, which wasn’t fully healed.

Canik said she is attending another college this spring and plans to transfer to University of Texas at San Antonio beginning in the fall.

The knee is still sore and sometimes gets swollen.

Women’s volleyball

Previously at La Grange High, graduate student Riley Fisbeck played all 27 sets during the fall portion of University of Alabama’s schedule. The setter led the team with 258 set assists and ranked sixth in the Southeastern Conference in assists per set. Her 58 digs ranked third on the squad and her 10 blocks second.

Send updates about area athletes to Barbara Boxleitner at jdanddoc@gmail.com.