The University of Maine women’s basketball has been a little thin on experience at the guard spot of late.
Even so, the long-term prognosis appears good.
Courtney Anderson of Greene, the Black Bears’ only senior, is expected to be sidelined about a month after undergoing surgery Monday on her left knee.
“I had a tear in my meniscus but they didn’t have to repair it. They trimmed it up a little bit, and I’ll be back in three to four weeks,” a relieved Anderson said on Tuesday afternoon.
“I think I was preparing for the worst, hoping for the best,” she added. “I think all the people around me did a little more praying for me than they usually have to.”
Anderson said she had injured her knee prior to the Nov. 29 game against Brown, but had been practicing and playing through significant discomfort.
“I would be in tears trying to get through practice on a daily basis,” said the former Leavitt High School standout.
Finally, Anderson was told she could not play any more until she had surgery.
Anderson was averaging 2.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists through eight games, logging 15.8 minutes per contest. Her .786 free-throw percentage is tied for the team lead.
Junior shooting guard Lauren Bodine has missed most of the last two games with a hamstring issue. She is averaging 3.7 points in 13.4 minutes per game.
It is hoped she will be able to return soon.
The absence of backups Anderson and Bodine has put some extra stress on guards Sigi Koizar and Sophie Weckstrom, the Black Bears’ primary point guards.
Koizar, UMaine’s leading scorer at 15.8 points per game and its No. 2 rebounder (3.8 rpg), played all but a few seconds over the last two games as the Black Bears (7-3) extended their winning streak to six games.
Weckstrom (7.8 ppg, 1.7 apg) returned, after sitting out the Dec. 7 contest against Harvard with an ankle sprain, to log 34 minutes against Dartmouth and play 30 minutes against Northeastern.
UMaine also can utilize juniors Chantel Charles and Liz Wood at guard if needed, while freshmen Christiana Gerostergiou and Parise Rossignol of Van Buren have earned some playing time in the backcourt.
“I think we’ve got enough bodies. It’s just a matter of do you trust those people to go in and make the right decisions at the right time,” said UMaine head coach Richard Barron, who added that junior Milica Mitrovic, who has worked her way back from offseason knee surgery, has been cleared to play.
The Black Bears tried to take advantage of having Sunday and Monday off from practice as they began final semester exams.
“Sophie and Sigi definitely needed the two days of rest that we’ve had,” Anderson said.
“Those people are taking most of the reps in games, and they definitely are in practice,” she added.
Anderson said that if she was going to get hurt during her senior season, this was as good a time as any to have it happen.
“We’re going into Christmas break, and I can still go on the trip [to South Carolina and Virginia] with everybody,” she said. “I don’t know when I’ll be back [for conference games], but it’s a whole lot better than not coming back at all.”
UMaine plays sixth-ranked North Carolina on Friday at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, then ends the semester Sunday at William & Mary.