Columbus North girls basketball coach Pat McKee went into the week preparing as though he would be without junior point guard Ashlyn Huffman for Saturday afternoon’s Class 4A semistate matchup with Roncalli.
Now, McKee and the Bull Dogs know that they’ll be moving forward shorthanded.
An MRI on Tuesday afternoon revealed that Huffman has a torn meniscus in her right knee, an injury she incurred late in the first half of last weekend’s regional title game against Evansville Central.
With the meniscus fully split and a return to the court this season out of the question, Huffman said she will have surgery today. The estimated recovery time is four to six weeks, meaning the 5-foot-5 junior should be able to return to the court sometime in April.
Senior Emily Kim is expected to start in Huffman’s place against Roncalli.
As it turns out, the Rebels are waiting to find out about the availability of one of their top players. Senior forward Daesjah Ely, Roncalli’s second-leading scorer and rebounder, sustained a reported knee injury with 6:14 remaining in a 46-45 victory against Greenfield-Central and was carried off of the court.
Postgame celebration photos showed Ely sitting in a swivel chair with ice on both of her legs.
Ely averages 12.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks for the Rebels. She posted team bests of 19 points and nine rebounds in Roncalli’s 66-62 loss at Columbus North on Jan. 28.
Huffman averaged 9.3 points and 4.6 assists for the Bull Dogs this season. She had scored in double figures in six of the past seven games and dished out 30 assists in the past five contests.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”The final four” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Class 4A girls basketball
Semistate
Saturday
Roncalli (24-4) vs. Columbus North (26-1) at Richmond, 3 p.m.
Penn (26-2) vs. Homestead (26-2) at Carroll, 7 p.m.
State final
Feb. 27
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
Semistate winners, 8:15 p.m.
Follow The Republic on Twitter (@therepublicnews) and on Facebook for score updates, photos and more during Saturday’s semistate game.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
