Season-ending injury — A three-word term no athlete wants to hear.

For some players, injuries and the ensuing recuperation process are a nuisance. A roadblock between them and the thing they love to do most.

For others, like Monarchs forward DeMya Walker, it is simply an alternate path that gives them a chance to emerge stronger and better than ever before.

Against the Los Angeles Sparks on June 2, 2007, Walker suffered a patellar tendon tear and MCL sprain in her right knee during the first quarter of the game at ARCO Arena. As she went down, so did her season.

Before the injury, Walker was averaging nearly nine points, five rebounds and one assist in 21 minutes per game. Though it wasn’t the way she envisioned her fifth year in Sacramento panning out, Walker’s misfortune turned into fortune for three of her teammates.

“I didn’t want to get hurt, but me getting hurt forced Nicole (Powell) and Kara (Lawson) to really step up their games,” Walker said. “[Just] look at all the different people on our team who have grown so tremendously and blossomed right before our eyes. [My injury] allowed Rebekkah (Brunson) to blossom. That’s when you say, ‘Would it have been the same if I was there?”

With Walker out, Powell, Lawson and Brunson all posted career-highs in points per game last season. In addition, Lawson and Brunson were named to the Western Conference All-Star team while Powell claimed the league’s free throw shooting title (96.4 percent).

“I believe with all my heart and soul that everything has a reason,” Walker said. “I just think [that] when you hold that mentality, you don’t get the chance to roll [over] yourself and have those depressed days. You focus on the good things that are happening instead of the bad things that already happened.”

After the injury, Walker began to split her focus between doing what she had to do — recover — and the only thing that she could still do from the bench — be a supportive teammate.

“[I] try to be the best teammate, do the little things and try to help my teammates be better people and better players,” Walker said. “My teammates have faith in me and never make me feel like I’m not part of the team. I never felt like my teammates were doing so well [that] they didn’t need me anymore.”

If her progress in recuperation is a sign of anything, Walker is well on her way to suiting up with her teammates again. Because of the positive approach to her recovery, Walker has learned and improved many of the nuances in her game that she believes will make her a better player than before.

“I’ve learned different techniques with how [I] land, jump and run that actually make me a stronger basketball player outside of my knee,” Walker said. “For example, I used to run kind of crooked, [but] now I’m running in a straight line [laughs]. It’s just little things. I think the adjustments that have been made to my overall framework have really made me a better player.”

In order to maintain her health, Walker learned new methods in conditioning to enhance her physical durability.

“I’m really focusing on my cardio and weight lifting,” Walker said smiling. “Weight lifting is going to be a part of my regimen for the rest of my career to prevent things like this from happening again.”

The way she ate also affected her road to recovery, which was made much smoother by some smart changes.

“They say that your knee will heal faster the lighter you are, so one of the things I could do for that was eat right,” Walker said. “It’s become routine now, but initially, I had to consciously tell myself [that] I wanted to do that.”

Among the key changes she made to her eating was replacing bad habits with healthier ones.

“Now, I drink just water, natural juice or smoothies -- and I’m not addicted to Pepsi anymore,” Walker said with a laugh. “I have a Romaine salad every day that I try to add different things to [like] chicken, steak or cheese.

“I really have been eating a whole lot better. I can honestly say I was one of the naysayers of that [eating lifestyle], but it’s true. It really does make you feel better when you eat better. I can go on much longer now. I can actually [do] cardio for an hour. Sign me up -- I’m a cardio girl now!”

On the court, the recovery period has given Walker a chance to add to her already well-rounded game. In particular, she has worked with head coach Jenny Boucek on a consistent jump shot -- something Walker is confident will earn her more respect from opponents.

“I’m daring people to leave me alone now,” Walker said. “If a defender gives me space, I want to make that shot all day long.”

On the day Walker does put her Monarchs jersey back on, number 22 will turn her full attention to the things she takes most pride in as a player.

“I’ll focus on doing the little things and the big things, [like] playing the hardest and being the first person on the floor,” Walker said. “That’s just who I am. That’s the role that I’ve always had on this team. For me, it’s [about] being able to step back into that role and [remind] my teammates and my coaching staff of what I can do.”

Fueled by a healthy knee and a revitalized body, Walker is ready to get back on the floor with her teammates and show off her new and improved self.

“I’m better than I was,” Walker said smiling. “And I was already pretty good if you ask me.”