UConn beat Creighton on Wednesday night, but not without losing another player to injury in the process.
Aubrey Griffin, a member of the Huskies’ starting lineup, went down with a non-contact injury in the third quarter after attempting to block a shot. She had to be helped off the court, and was putting no weight on her left leg.
Postgame, head coach Geno Auriemma said that the team will know more after testing.
“Apparently, she went to put her foot down and her foot turned in,” coach Geno Auriemma said. “And it kicked her knee in. There wasn’t anybody around her. There wasn’t any contact. … The team doctor from Creighton came out and he pretty much said the knee is very unstable. I guess we’ll know more when we get a test.”
It wouldn’t be the first time that Griffin missed time with an injury at UConn. She did not play as a junior due to a back injury that required surgery. She also suffered a knee injury in high school.
“Aubrey’s had to overcome a lot,” Auriemma said. “You just are heartbroken for a kid when it’s their last year and something like this happens. … The basketball part is actually really secondary, you try to say, ‘Wow, how are we going to replace her on the basketball court?’ I don’t think anybody thinks like that. It’s more the rest of your teammates knowing that you’re going to have to fight your way through this, and it’s not an easy one.”
Aaliyah Edwards told SNY’s Chelsea Sherrod postgame that it was “really tough” seeing a “core” member of the team go down.
“Just hoping and praying that everything’s okay,” Edwards added.
Griffin’s injury is just the latest in what has been another injury-ridden season for the Huskies. Azzi Fudd (knee), Jana El Alfy (Achilles) and Ayanna Patterson (knee) are out for the season, while Caroline Ducharme, who has been dealing with head and neck problems, is still not close to a return.
The loss of Griffin would leave UConn with just nine scholarship players and 18 games to go.