Lisa (Johnson) Sommer's career with the University of Toledo women's basketball team didn't end the way she had hoped. The former Rocket standout wasn't able to compete in last year's Mid-American Conference tournament after suffering a knee injury in the final regular-season game. At Northview, she was on teams that reached Division I state semifinals during her sophomore and junior seasons. She was also a Division I state champion high jumper. She became a Sommer back in the fall when she married former UT baseball player Dustin Sommer.


What do you recall of your injury that occurred in UT's final regular-season game last year?
"I went up for a rebound and when I was coming down a Central Michigan player knocked me. I heard it [my knee] pop. It didn't really hurt, but it was kind of shocking. It was hard not being able to play [in the MAC tournament]. It would have been great to play in that tournament. Ever since I tore up my knee it's given me a different perspective that maybe I'd like to be a high school coach one day. I never thought about coaching before the injury because I was always a player."


How were you able to handle going from a two-year starter at UT under coach Mark Ehlen to coming off the bench during your final two years after Tricia Cullup was hired?
"I had been a starter as a freshman and as a sophomore. I was the sixth man coming off the bench as a junior. I played even fewer minutes as a senior, but my role was to provide an energy boost off the bench. I really took to that role and I was OK with that. Having a new coach in my junior year I new things were going to be different. I've never been one to want the spotlight. I just wanted to go out and have fun. I didn't go home crying after I was no longer a starter. I just wanted to control what I could control."


Can you compare playing for Ehlen and then Cullop?
"It was very different. Just having something new and fresh just gave people hope. Coach Ehlen had a great fan base, and he led the way and with her [Cullop's] energy and intensity, it changed our approach. She came in at a great time and brought in a great staff."


How's the knee recovering and do you still play?
"I tore it up, the ACL and the MCL. But I'm at the point now where I'm starting to feel more comfortable with my knee. I definitely do miss playing. I have thought about getting involved in some co-ed rec leagues or something. I miss the competition."


Was basketball always your favorite sport?
"I high jumped in high school. I won state in high jump my senior year and placed third in my junior year. Basketball was definitely one of my favorites, but I loved high jumping too. The high jump was more self-driven."
How did you start playing basketball?

I always wanted to be like my big sister, Sarah. Once she started playing basketball I wanted to play basketball. I wanted to be just like her and it worked out."


How's life after college?
"It's definitely different. I got married in September and I'm a nurse at St. Luke's, and I work in the intensive care unit. I think I got lucky and I got a job that I truly love. I think I got lucky with the teachers and professors and coaches that I have had. I was told I was not going to be able to finish my nursing program in four years but I was able to do so."


Is working in a hospital as a nurse similar to playing sports?
"Being on a team was extremely important in high school and college. At St. Luke's I'm working on a medical team of people from my age to people in their 50s and 60s. Knowing how to work with people on teams in sports has helped me in the workplace. You have to be able to work with people. Sports have taught me everything I know."


What was it like making back-to-back trips to the state semifinals at Northview?
"Those were some of the best memories. Being a public school you weren't expected to make it to the state tournament and here we were coming down to state two years in a row. We really worked hard, and I give all the credit to coach [Jerry] Sigler and he's still there today. Playing sports in high school, it gave a young girl like myself a lot more confidence that you could go on and do a lot more in life. In my junior year, I played with Niki McCoy and Riana Miller, and we went back to state and that was the biggest achievement because no one expected us to do that. My sophomore year, we were stacked and I felt like we just went along for the ride."


Do you still keep in touch with your former UT coaches and teammates?
"I haven't been able to get to as many games as I would have liked because of my work schedule, but I'm proud of them, and I give them a lot of credit for helping me out."


What about the the UT-BG rivalry?
"It's definitely competitive. It's definitely the game. It's two teams down the street. When we beat BG last year, it was like we won the tournament. It's not just about the team, it's about the towns. It's so fun to be a part of that."

— Donald Emmons

First Published March 13, 2011, 12:30 a.m.