For the second straight season, the Gophers have lost Taylor Woodson before their season really got started.
A 6-foot, junior forward from Minnetonka, Woodson suffered a season-ending injury to her right knee during a 99-36 victory over Manhattan last Friday. In two games off the bench for the Gophers, Woodson averaged a point and two rebounds in 22 combined minutes this season.
Last season, her first back in Minnesota after transferring from Michigan, Woodson blew out her left knee after playing 12 games and spent the next several months rehabbing to be ready for this season.
“This is one of the hardest parts of collegiate athletics, to see someone who has worked so hard now face another significant injury, this time to her other knee,” coach Dawn Plitzuweit said in a statement.
Woodson is the second lost Gophers (2-0) player this fall. On Oct. 22, 6-1 forward, one of the team’s best players since her freshman year, announced she was leaving the program and would use her final year of eligibility at a different school.
“Taylor not only attacked her rehab with incredible consistency and effort, but she grew her knowledge of the game, her voice as a leader, and she worked diligently to grow her ability to become a consistent shooter throughout her recovery,” Plitzuweit said.
Losing Woodson isn’t as devastating for the team as losing 6-2 power forward Mallory Heyer, a three-year starter who played a major role in the team’s WBIT championship last spring, but it is a loss of additional size off the bench for a team otherwise dominated by guards.
Senior Sophie Hart, an efficient post who has found a large role since transferring from N.C. State, might be asked to do even more — although the Gophers have solid hopes for graduate transfer Finau Tonga, who had 14 points and seven rebounds in just 11 minutes in a season-opening victory over North Dakota.
Plitzuweit said the Gophers will petition the NCAA for a medical waiver that would allow Woodson to retain three years of eligibility.
“I have no doubt that she will come back from this injury as an even more developed player and person and that all of her teammates, coaches and our medical staff will be there to support her every step of the way,” the coach said.
Minnesota, which received 15 points in this week’s Associated Top 25 poll, plays Tuesday against Marquette at Williams Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
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