Terrible news…#Gophers guard Rachel Banham is out for the season with an ACL tear. http://t.co/3lh8sClfdi pic.twitter.com/hgDSk2ZmUm
— The Daily Gopher (@TheDailyGopher) December 12, 2014
The Gophers women’s basketball team received some bad news on Thursday. Guard Rachel Banham will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
The announcement was made on Thursday by Gophers women’s basketball coach Marlene Stollings.
Banham was the Big Ten preseason Player of the Year and was also a Naismith Award nominee. She was averaging 18.8 points per game (59th nationally) and was among the nation’s leaders in three-point field goals per game (3.2).
Sad to hear that Rachel Banham has torn her ACL and will miss the rest of the season. No news of whether medical redshirt is possible yet.
— Amelia Rayno (@AmeliaRayno) December 12, 2014
Banham, a senior from Lakeville, was injured during the first half of Minnesota’s 68-55 victory at North Dakota Wednesday night.
Banham is 107 points shy of former Gopher Lindsay Whalen’s school record of 2,285 career points.
According to the Star Tribune, a source with knowledge of the situation says Banham also partially tore her medial collateral ligament. She has had trouble with the knee in the past. Banham tweaked the same knee during a game last season against Miami. She returned after missing just one game.
It’s possible that Banham could petition the NCAA for a medical redshirt. If granted one, she could get another year of eligibility.
