Dec. 12, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame sophomore guard Brittany Mallory (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh School) will miss the remainder of the 2008-09 women’s basketball season after injuring her knee early in the overtime period of Notre Dame’s 63-59 loss at Michigan Wednesday night. Mallory suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee, with that diagnosis confirmed by team orthopedist Dr. Fred Ferlic after the second-year guard underwent a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) exam on Thursday morning. She will undergo surgery to repair the injury at a later date, and her rehabilitation timetable has not yet been established.
At the time of her injury, Mallory had played in only seven games this season, placing her within the NCAA guidelines for medical redshirt status (appearing in less than 30 percent of a team’s regular-season games — Notre Dame has 28 games scheduled this year). Mallory is expected to petition for that status, and if granted, she would retain three years of athletic eligibility.
“Brittany has such a positive attitude and that will really help her adjust and cope with this situation,” Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. “She will be sorely missed because I believe she was playing some of the best basketball of her career. However, I’m confident she’s going to come back stronger, healthier and more determined than ever to be a major contributor for us next season.”
Mallory started for the first three times in her career as part of her seven-game stint this season, averaging career highs of 8.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, along with personal-best shooting percentages from the field (.467) and three-point arc (.350). In addition, she posted a 2.22 assist/turnover ratio (20 assists, nine turnovers) while averaging 22 minutes per game. Mallory scored in double figures three times this year, including a career-high 19 points (7-10 FG, 3-4 3FG) on Nov. 25 in a home victory over Georgia Southern, and she also chalked up a career-best six assists in a Nov. 19 home win over Evansville.
Mallory has appeared in 40 games in her Notre Dame career to date, averaging 6.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 17.2 minutes per game.
No. 8 Notre Dame (7-1) gets back to action Saturday when it travels to Valparaiso for a 1:35 p.m. CT (2:35 p.m. ET) game that will be televised jointly on ESPN360.com, ESPN Full Court, Lakeshore Public Television and the Horizon League Network. The Irish then will have a week off for final exams before returning to the Joyce Center hardwood on Dec. 20 for a 2 p.m. (ET) matchup with Loyola-Chicago. Tickets for that game, and all remaining Notre Dame women’s basketball home contests, as well as the 2009 NCAA Tournament first- and second-round games at the Joyce Center, are available for purchase by contacting the Notre Dame Athletics Ticket Office (574-631-7356; Gate 1 at the Joyce Center from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET weekdays), visiting the tickets page of the official Irish athletics web site (www.UND.com/tickets) or stopping by the Joyce Center Gate 10 ticket windows on game day.
— ND —