Nov. 3, 2015

by Chris Masters

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame women’s basketball freshman guard Ali Patberg (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North) will miss the 2015-16 season after suffering a torn ACL in her right knee during practice Monday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion. The injury was confirmed on Tuesday following an MRI exam and evaluation conducted by team orthopedist Dr. Mike Yergler.

“Our hearts go out to Ali, and we are disappointed she won’t be able to play this season,” said Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame’s Karen and Kevin Keyes Head Women’s Basketball Coach.

“However, Ali is an extremely tough young woman, both mentally and physically, and I’m confident this is only a temporary setback and a brief delay to the start of what will be a terrific college career. All of us in the Notre Dame women’s basketball family will be behind Ali 100 percent during her rehabilitation and give her all the resources she needs to be ready to go next season.”

The 5-foot-10 Patberg was a consensus high school All-American as a senior in 2014-15 at Columbus North High School, including top honors from McDonald’s and Parade Magazine, and she was the MaxPreps National High School Player of the Year, as well as last year’s Indiana Miss Basketball. Patberg averaged 18.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.6 steals per game during her prep career, which culminated last spring when she led Columbus North to its first Indiana Class 4A state championship.

Under the guidance of Notre Dame athletic trainer Anne Marquez, Patberg already has begun treatment in preparation for corrective surgery on her injury, with an approximate rehabilitation time of 8-10 months.

For more information on the Notre Dame women’s basketball program, visit the main women’s basketball page on the University’s official athletics web site (UND.com/ndwbb), sign up to follow the Fighting Irish women’s basketball Twitter and Instagram pages (@ndwbb), like the program on Facebook or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the front page at UND.com.

– ND –

Chris Masters, associate athletics communications director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2001 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s basketball and women’s golf programs. A native of San Francisco, California, Masters is a 1996 graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, earned his master’s degree from Kansas State University in 1998, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).