Amber Infalt, a junior at Hartford Union High School, tries to spin a basketball on her fingertips on the grounds of St. Lawrence Catholic Church in St. Lawrence. She is a member of the Milwaukee Heat wheelchair basketball team. The Heat will play games against Hartford area residents Saturday to raise funds.

Milwaukee Heat’s Amber Infalt, 16, of Hartford puts the ball up for two points at their game against the Blazers.

Milwaukee Heat’s Amber Infalt, 16, of Hartford dribbles the ball down the court at the team’s game against the Blazers. She is a member of the Milwaukee Heat wheelchair basketball team, which will play some games and raise funds Saturday at Hartford Union High School.

HARTFORD - Amber Infalt is an athlete determined to take her team to the national championship.

The 16-year-old Hartford Union High junior is a member of the Milwaukee Heat Wheelchair basketball team - a team that has worked its way from rank beginners to competitive players in a relatively short time.

"We started scrimmaging more for fun, but in the ‘06-’07 season, we started playing on a more competitive level. We qualified for JV Nationals and we took ninth place last year," said Amber.

This year, the team qualified for the national tournament in Seattle and Amber is doing her part to make sure all her teammates get there - with a fundraising exhibition tournament at Hartford Union High School Saturday.

In the past, athletes and their families have driven to competitions, but the team and coaches will be flown out to the tournament. Between the flight, hotel and transportation, the trip will cost the team $16,000 for two coaches, eight players with a guardian or parent for each player.

"It’s neat to see her taking a larger role," said Chris Infalt, who is helping her daughter out with the project. "It’s made her a stronger person. I’m so proud of her."

Six years ago, Amber Infalt contracted transverse myelitis, which left her in a wheelchair.

"It was freaky, it happened all in one day," she said.

A playground fall and loss of feeling in her legs led to a nurse room visit, and from there, to Aurora Medical Center in Hartford and then Children’s Hospital, where she spent 16 days.

Transverse myelitis is a rare neurological disorder caused by inflammation across segments of the spinal cord. About a third of people affected experience good or full recovery, another third show only fair recovery and the remaining one-third show no recovery at all. No effective cure exists for people with TM.

"Middle school was hard, but in high school, I’ve had an easier time being accepted and accepting myself," said Infalt, who lives in the town of Addison with her dad Jeff, mom Chris, twin sister Ashley and 13-year-old brother, Alex.

Amber Infalt had played basketball recreationally with Independence First shortly after being diagnosed in 2002. When the Milwaukee Heat team started in 2005, she joined.

At first it was frustrating.

"We’d go to practice in Germantown, but I didn’t understand the terminology," she said.

Through the patience of Coach Jim Zomchek and her teammates, she started to understand the basics.

She honed her skills at summer basketball camps in Whitewater and now she helps other newcomers on the team.

Amber was already been courted by the University of Alabama, but is considering attending the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater after graduation.

In addition to her mom’s relief that she’d be closer to home, the school’s business emphasis fits with Amber’s scholastic goals and she said the university is looking at starting a girl’s college wheelchair basketball team next year. UW-Whitewater men’s wheelchair team took first in the nation last year.

"I can be competitive, but even the down-time is fun. The best part is getting to know others," said Infalt, whose strength is defense.

"My job is to get in the way," she said.

She talks about the team for quite a while before mentioning she’s the only girl on the roster.

"There are no advantages. There’s no pity because you’re a girl," she said.