Liberty Flames

Liberty's Brittany Boyd on road back after Achilles injury

Published Jun. 23, 2017 12:58 p.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) Brittany Boyd is making progress in recovering from a torn Achilles.

Her season is over, but the New York Liberty guard was able to shoot at practice in a walking boot. It was only a few days earlier she was getting around on a scooter that kept pressure off her left leg.

Clearly, she'd much rather be playing, but for now it's one step at a time. She was injured May 18 and had surgery four days later. Recovery time is typically at least nine months.

''Right now, I'm still taking it all in,'' Boyd said during a conference call last week. ''Knowing how hard I worked this offseason to prepare myself for this season, I think that's really kind of where I'm struggling to find peace at. This is what I love to do. So not being on the court is hard.''

Boyd was dribbling and taking free throws at practice Thursday, and getting razzed by coach Bill Laimbeer when she missed her foul shots.

''I'm not a doctor, but they said it wasn't as complicated as some other ones,'' Laimbeer said. ''She can't play this year unfortunately, but is in pretty good spirits.

The ninth-pick in the 2015 draft, Boyd has been snake-bitten. She injured her wrist right before the 2015 playoffs and missed that postseason. The point guard made her first appearance at Madison Square Garden when New York played Seattle on June 11. It was her 24th birthday. She smiled for the crowd, who gave her a warm ovation.

It was her first appearance since she got hurt at the Garden against Minnesota. She was leading a fourth-quarter comeback in that game, scoring eight of her 16 points in the final period before she dribbled off a screen and went down. She tried to get up, but then just went back down.

''I thought I just needed to walk it off,'' Boyd said.

She hobbled to the locker room knowing she couldn't just walk it off. She thought she had just gotten kicked in the foot.

''She was going to have a breakout year for herself it appeared,'' Laimbeer said. ''She spent two years learning and making herself a better player.''

Boyd started the first two games this season. While her numbers were modest, she was finally understanding Laimbeer's system.

''That's the hardest part,'' Boyd said. ''I started to figure it out, and then it was just boom.''

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