Utah guard Gianna Kneepkens broke multiple bones in her foot and will miss the rest of the season, head coach Lynne Roberts said Monday.
Kneepkens, an All-Pac-12 player and Utah’s second-leading scorer, was injured late against BYU and had to be helped off the floor.
She will undergo surgery in the coming days, the U. said, possibly as soon as Tuesday.
It is “a blow to our program,” Roberts said. “Something we all have taken in [during] the last 36 hours to kind of digest. But that is why we have been talking about our depth and I believe in this team.
“… We are kind of back to where we started a year ago where everybody is going to write us off again. But we thrive in that role and we will be fine. We will be good.”
Kneepkens was scheduled to meet with doctors Monday afternoon to explore the exact timeline of her surgery.
Because she only played in eight games, she will be able to medical redshirt and have two years of eligibility left. The threshold is nine games.
Against BYU, Kneepkens planted her right foot as she attempted a step-back three. Her body moved forward, but her foot remained planted.
She immediately fell to the ground and could not get up without the assistance of Roberts and athletic trainers. She had X-rays that night, confirming the severity of the break.
Roberts said the injury was not due to overuse, but more of a one-time accident.
“Gianna is struggling,” Roberts said. “If there is a kid that eats, sleeps and breathes basketball, it is her. But this is part of life. Life can stink sometimes. This is going to be a process for her that she is going to have to push through. She has got a group of teammates and coaches who love her. She will be all right. It is still a little raw. The fact that the season is over for her, she is still working through that.”
Kneepkens will not travel with the team to Philadelphia or Connecticut this week as Utah plays St. Joseph’s and No. 1 South Carolina.
For the Utes, the loss of Kneepkens is hard to overstate. She has been a starter for Roberts since her freshman year and was averaging 17 points per game to go along with five rebounds and nearly four assists.
She was Utah’s best playmaker and one of the better guards in the country. She made the watchlist for the Naismith Trophy, an award given to the country’s best player.
“She was asking me today if she could help us scout,” Roberts said. “This is a kid that is just feverish about basketball and our program. So she is going to be a huge part of it.”