Hoping to keep a nagging knee injury from getting worse, Illinois State point guard
Taren O'Brien will have arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday and probably miss at least two weeks.
Dr. Rob Seidl will perform the surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in O'Brien's right knee, which has bothered her since mid-December.
Redbird coach
Jenny Yopp explained that the surgery will be best for O'Brien in the long run.
"Our team will miss Taren, but if it's taken care of now, that lowers the risk of further injury later," said Yopp, whose team plays at 7 p.m. Friday against Creighton at Redbird Arena. Yopp indicated that current starters
Steph Reichle and
Jaci McCormack will share the point guard duties, but she isn't sure who will replace O'Brien in the starting group.
"Steph and Jaci will be very capable in the point guard role," said Yopp. "With the experience of
Shandeen Hunt and
Kellie Johnson, and the improvement of (freshmen)
Stacey White and
Beth Huston, we still have depth on the perimeter."
The good news on the medical front for Illinois State is that Hunt's left hand, which has been bothering her recently, is not broken. Hunt has played with the hand heavily taped for the past week.
O'Brien, a freshman from Savannah, Mo., joined the Redbird starting lineup three games ago. She leads the team in steals with 23 and is tied for team leadership in three-point field goals with 11.
