HARTFORD, Conn. - Throughout the course of the season, all teams get dealt setbacks from unfortunate injuries.
The good teams are the ones that are able to bounce back from such setbacks and continue to move forward. The Rutgers women's basketball team has been hit with countless injuries this season. And it is now up to them to show just how good of a team they are.
"We've been hit hard with injuries this season," head coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "We're an injury away from not being able to complete a game."
Through 16 games this season, the Scarlet Knights have yet to enter a game with a full team and have struggled to a 9-7 record with usually only eight players even dressed to play.
The Knights bad luck with injuries started before the team even stepped foot on the court this season, with two starters going down and not being able to play for a significant amount of time each.
The first devastating injury that occurred happened last season when junior forward Mariota Theodoris went down due to an injury in her ACL.
Theodoris was supposed to be one of the few of the talented post players to see major minutes this season. She has not yet returned from this injury this season. There had been hope that she'd be able to play this season, but it appears that will not be the case.
The next blow that the team had to endure was the loss of junior guard Chelsea Newton. Newton, who injured her shoulder while lifting weights this summer, has been able to play in only eight games thus far, and although she's the third-leading scorer on the team, she has not been able to play up to her full potential due to the nagging effects of her injury.
"Newton will be fine in the long run," junior guard Cappie Pondexter said. "She's a big part of this team and brings a lot to the floor, we are a better team with her out there."
Pondexter, as well as her backcourt mate Dawn McCullouch, have had to play through injuries this season, and have not seemed to have the type of offensive games that were so regular last season. Pondexter has had to fight through the pain of a sprained ankle and McCullouch has had to deal with a foot injury for much of the season. Both have struggled a bit and will have to get healthy for RU to make a run at the postseason.
Senior forward Shalicia Hurns has averaged over seven rebounds and seven points per game while trying to fight through the pain of a sprained knee. With the team already being short on post players, this has hurt Rutgers ability to set up its offense and give other players much needed rest.
With 11 games left in the season, Rutgers has the ability to go on a run and make it to the NCAA Tournament as a higher seed. However, for the time being - at least until some of its key players are able to get healthy - they must try to deal with the injuries and fight through them. This is a team that, when healthy, can compete with anyone and hopes that by the end of the season, will be that very team.
"We need to believe in each other, and it's hard for us to recover from the lack of players in uniform," Hurns said. "We need to work harder every day in practice and stand together as a team. Most of all, we need to believe in one another."
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