|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Sidelines turn into rehab clinics
By Aaron Sharockman, Special to CNNSI.com Caity Matter. Tanya McClure. Courtney Bale. Chrissy Falcone. Jennifer Brenden. Mary Jo Noon. Candice Jackson. LaToya Turner. Ozlem Piroglu. It's like the manifest of a sinking ship. And it's growing. Fast. Starting the season, it was Penn States sole problem, but a massive rash of serious injuries has plagued the entire conference, and last week was certainly no exception. Burns' team beaten bareAfter starting the season 10-0, Ohio State coach Beth Burns couldn't help but have high hopes for the Big Ten season. But once thought to be fighting for an NCAA tournament bid, Burns is now fighting to keep five healthy Buckeyes on the floor.The biggest blow came January 4, when sensational sophomore LaToya Turner suffered a season-ending tear to her left anterior cruciate ligament in a two-point loss to Michigan State. The injury was Turner's second to her left ACL. She tore the ligament in a high school all-star game two years ago. "Obviously, this is a big challenge for LaToya to face," Burns said. "We will all pull together to support her through her surgery and subsequent rehab. Through all of this, our team is that much closer and fully committed to helping LaToya." Before the injury, Turner, the 2000 Big Ten freshman of the year, ranked third in scoring (17.8 ppg), sixth in rebounding (6.6 rpg), fourth in steals (2.54 spg) and first in blocks (2.31 bpg). Turner was named Big Ten player of the week honor Nov. 20 following a career-high 37-point and 14-rebound performance in the Buckeyes' season opening rout of Cleveland State. Replacing Turner would have already caused headaches for Burns, but the loss of other key players has decimated her once unbeaten team (11-3, 1-3 Big Ten). "At this point, I'm more of a morale coach than anything," she said. "I guess [the injury bug] hits everybody, but to have five season-ending injuries is almost stunning. "My biggest challenge is the morale of the team." Along with Turner, freshman guard Caity Matter, guard Tanya McClure and forward Courtney Bale have all been shelved with significant injuries. Matter played in the Buckeyes' first nine games averaging over eight points and three rebounds a contest. But the big loss is Turner, whose absence certainly ends any real chance of an NCAA tournament bid for Ohio State. "She just was having a tremendous campaign," said Burns of Turner. "If our team had remained in the top of the standings and her numbers remained where they were, I thought she had a chance to be first team Big Ten, Team USA and all of the national accolades that we shoot for." Purdue loses a low-post fixtureBoilermaker coach Kristy Curry was saddened by the news that Turner, one of the Big Ten's best, was hurt, and finished for this season.But her tears went to the loss of her back-up center, Mary Jo Noon. Noon, a 6-5 sophomore who spelled first team all-Big Ten center Camille Cooper during the season, tore a ligament in her left knee in Purdue's win over Iowa Jan. 4. Noon will have surgery on the knee and miss the remainder of the season. She cannot redshirt the year according to NCAA rules. "We have one broken-hearted young lady right now," Curry said. "People don't realize how important she was to this team. It's a big hole that we need to fill. We [need to] rally as a family." And the Boilers did that in their first game without Noon in Sunday's 67-59 win over rejuvenated in-state rival Indiana. Freshman forward Shalicia Hurns, who saw extended action because of Noon's injury, led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field. "We needed her to step up," Curry said. "We told the freshmen last week that they're not freshmen anymore. This is January -- this is 2001 -- they're sophomores now, and I though Hurns really stepped up for us tonight." Hurns stepped up to carry some of the load from all-America Katie Douglas, who was also injured in the Jan. 4 win over Iowa. On a fall to the ground, Douglas suffered a mild concussion that almost kept her out of Sunday's game. Douglas did play 36 minutes in the win, tallying 13 points off, but was a step off, Curry said. "It was a collaboration between the doctors and myself -- to play," said Douglas still visibly showing some signs of the concussion. "I had a little bit of a headache and still was feeling dizzy [Saturday]. But I got a good night's rest finally night and felt able to play. I will say I didn't feel great out there, though." Minnesota keeps getting youngerGopher coach Cheryl Littlejohn was dealt another blow last week when her starting point guard, Ozlem Piroglu had her season shortened by a strained medial collateral ligament.The team was already inexperienced, with nearly a dozen starting lineups already this season, and the loss of Piroglu, who as a freshman started every game, definitely thins the Gophers even more. "We've tried our best to rally," Littlejohn said. "This has been a horrific season for injuries. Our starting point guard went down with an MCL injury, which really hurts us." In 12 games, Piroglu had averaged 8.3 points and 4.8 assists a game. Sophomore Trish McGhee takes over the starting point guard duties in Piroglu's absence. In her first start, McGhee scored four points and added an assist in a one-point loss to Michigan State. McGhee, ironically, missed all but the first six games of her rookie season with the Gophers after tearing the ACL in her left knee.
Aaron Sharockman is a reporter for the Indiana Daily Student, the student newspaper serving Indiana University.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
