Husson University junior center Sami Ireland of Howland will undergo knee surgery and will miss the rest of the season, according to Husson head coach Kissy Walker.
Ireland suffered the injury Dec. 30 in the fourth quarter of Husson’s 64-59 victory over Chicago, which at the time was ranked No. 8 in Division III.
She is the third Husson player to be lost for the season because of a knee injury.
Freshman guard Emily Wheaton of Presque Isle played in just two games before being shelved with her knee injury and junior forward Barrett Campbell of Saco got only six games under her belt before being sidelined.
In 10 games, the 6-foot Ireland ranked second on the team while averaging 11.2 points and 7.5 rebounds.
Ireland has also been the starting goalkeeper for the Eagles women’s soccer team the last two seasons.
“She was playing so well,” said Walker, who noted that Ireland is expected to have the surgery later this month. “She was well on her way to becoming a first team all-conference player.
“She was almost at the top of her game. She was playing at a different level than she played at last year. She really wanted it this year,” Walker said.
Ireland averaged 9.8 points and 6.2 rebounds during the 2017-2018 campaign.
Walker, in her 28th season as Husson’s head coach, said she can’t recall ever losing three players to season-ending injuries in the same season.
“Every team battles with injuries,” Walker said. “We’ve had a pretty good spell. We’ll have one kid get hurt here and there but, for the most part, we’ve been very fortunate.”
Husson (9-6 overall, 5-0 North Atlantic Conference) has gone 4-1 since losing Ireland. The only loss came at the hands of No. 1 Bowdoin College of Brunswick.
Husson hosts SUNY Canton (5-10, 3-3 NAC) in a league doubleheader at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday.
Walker goes into Friday night’s contest on the brink of earning her 500th career coaching victory. Her record is 499-261.
“It’s crazy. Everybody is talking about it. I’m just preparing for the next game,” Walker said.