STORRS, Conn. -- Shea Ralph, the heart and hustle of
defending national-champion Connecticut, was putting on another
gritty performance in another big game when her good knee failed
her.
If the Huskies (28-2) are to repeat, they'll have to do it
without her.
The senior guard tore anterior cruciate ligament in her left
knee during Tuesday night's Big East title game against Notre Dame.
She went down in a tearful heap after a missed layup with 5:18
left in the first half. Her teammates gasped, some cried, but they
regrouped and beat the top-ranked Fighting Irish 78-76.
Ralph, last year's Final Four MVP, had two operations to repair
a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee and sat out her
sophomore season.
Team surgeon Dr. Michael Joyce delivered the latest bad news
after the game.
"The very strong clinical impression at this time is that she
tore the ACL and that would mean the season's over for her," he
said. "She's never injured her left knee. This is what we called
her good knee."
An MRI on Wednesday confirmed his diagnosis. She'll have surgery
after the NCAA tournament, school officials said. Ralph was
unavailable for comment.
Ralph had 11 points, six assists and three steals in her last 14
minutes in a UConn uniform.
"She was on her way," coach Geno Auriemma said. "You can't
play better than the way Shea was playing. She had six assists
against Rutgers (in the semifinal), didn't have to take any shots
and almost dominated that game. That's Shea Ralph at her best."
It's the second major blow to the Huskies in five weeks.
All-American Svetlana Abrosimova suffered a season-ending foot
injury Feb. 1 in a 92-88 loss to Tennessee.
Auriemma's deep, talented bench took the hit and kept winning.
Ralph joined Abrosimova on the bench in the second half Tuesday
and watched her teammates come through again.
Sue Bird's fadeaway jumper at the buzzer beat the Irish and gave
No. 2 UConn it's 10th Big East tournament title, and probably the
No. 1 ranking going into the NCAA Tournament.
"There was a lot of emotion," Bird said. "(Teammate) Marci
Czel pulled us all in and said it's all about heart. We've got to
win this for Shea. She's given so much to me and so much to this
basketball program."
Ralph helped deliver the Huskies' second national championship
with all-out hustle in a 71-52 victory over Tennessee in
Philadelphia a year ago. She harassed Tennessee players all over
the court and constantly ran down loose balls, finishing with 15
points on 7-for-8 shooting, and had seven assists, six steals and a
block.
She finished her career as the sixth all-time leading scorer
with 1,667 points and the fifth all-time assist leader with 450
career assists.
Ralph was the Big East rookie of the year and was averaging 11
points a game when she tore her right ACL in the first round of the
NCAA. She re-tore it a few months later and underwent a second
operation.
Auriemma said he went numb when he saw Ralph go down Tuesday.
"I don't know how to feel any more when these things happen,"
he said. "I do know it's hard to enjoy the championship as much.
She knew what it was. I knew what it was."
Auriemma said he sensed going into the Big East tournament that
Ralph would have another big game. But lately, his hunches have
been getting him into trouble.
"My wife's been getting mad at me because I'll say so and so
has been playing great or practicing great, and I jinx them," he
said. "I came home before the tournament and said Shea Ralph's
going to be the MVP of the tournament. She's got that look in her
eye."
Instead, she and fellow co-captain Abrosimova will watch from
courtside as the Huskies begin their defense of the national title
next week.
Left are Bird and freshman Diana Taurasi, the Big East
tournament MVP. Post players include Tamika Williams, who combined
with Swin Cash, Asjha Jones and Kelly Schumacher for 22 of UConn's
39 rebounds against Notre Dame.
"I think we'll be OK," said Auriemma, who paused for a moment
to ponder the future. "As a matter of fact, we're going to be just
fine."  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
|
|
ALSO SEE
Bird's buzzer-beater lifts UConn to Big East title
Lieberman-Cline: Rounding up Ralph
Adelson: Shea it ain't so
Women's ACL injuries: A gender gap?
AUDIO VIDEO
 Shea Ralph drives to the basket, but goes down hard with a knee injury.
avi: 3661 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
|
