Nov. 30, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame sophomore forward Devereaux Peters (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) will miss the remainder of the 2008-09 women’s basketball season after re-injuring her surgically-repaired left knee in the first half of Notre Dame’s 102-54 win at Boston College on Nov. 23. Peters suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee, an injury that she first suffered last season (Feb. 10 against Pittsburgh), with the latest diagnosis confirmed by team orthopedist Dr. Fred Ferlic after Peters underwent a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) exam last week. Peters 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 current injury, Peters had played in only three games this season, well within the NCAA guidelines for medical redshirt status (appearing in less than 30 percent of a team’s regular-season games). The second-year Irish forward is expected to petition for that status, and if granted, Peters would retain three years of athletic eligibility.
“This is an unfortunate setback for Devereaux and our primary focus at this point is on her health and well-being,” Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. “She’s an incredibly-gifted player on the court and a wonderful young woman off the floor and I have no doubt that she’s going to come back from this injury with the same drive, passion and determination that we’ve already seen in her time at Notre Dame. It’s also important to note that she has an amazing support system in place, and that includes our own assistant coach, Niele Ivey, who went through a similar situation (two ACL surgeries) during her career at Notre Dame and went on to have tremendous success both in college and beyond.”
In her abbreviated 2008-09 season, Peters averaged 7.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game with a .688 field goal percentage (11-of-16). She made an impressive return to action on Nov. 16 in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic at No. 24/22 LSU, coming off the bench to tally 12 points (on 6-of-7 shooting), six rebounds, three blocks and three steals in 28 minutes of a 62-53 Irish win. She then added six points in a starting role on Nov. 19 against Evansville, and scored four points in the Nov. 23 game against Boston College when she was injured.
Last season, Peters appeared in 23 games (starting twice) and ranked fourth on the team in scoring (9.0 ppg.), tying for second in rebounding (5.6 rpg.) and leading the way in blocks (1.96 bpg.). She also scored in double figures 14 times, including the final four games of her rookie campaign (11 vs. Pittsburgh on Feb. 10 before departing with her original knee injury). In addition, she logged her first career double-double on Jan. 27 against top-ranked Connecticut with 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. What’s more, her total blocks (45) and blocks-per-game average rank third all-time among Irish freshmen, trailing only Shari Matvey (94 blocks, 3.1 bpg. in 1979-80) and Ruth Riley (71 blocks, 2.2 bpg. in 1997-98).
No. 14/10 Notre Dame (5-0) will get back on the hardwood Tuesday with a 7 p.m. (ET) contest at Eastern Michigan. The Irish then return home next Sunday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. (ET) for their annual matchup with in-state rival No. 19/23 Purdue at the Joyce Center. Less than 250 tickets remain for that matchup, with the outstanding admissions (and those for all remaining Notre Dame women’s basketball home games), 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. 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 —