Sophomore guard Caroline Doty provided the Huskies with a big lift in the first half tonight by making three 3-pointers. Top-ranked UConn might have to compete in the Big East tournament final Tuesday night against No. 9 West Virginia without her.
Doty was inadvertently elbowed in the back of the head and neck by Notre Dame senior Ashley Barlow with 58 seconds remaining in UConn’s 59-44 victory. Irish freshman Skylar Diggins stole the ball on the play.
Doty fell to the ground immediately and was facedown on the court when play was finally stopped with 49.7 seconds left.
“She may have a concussion,’’ UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “And, obviously, if she has a concussion, she’s not playing tomorrow. But just by the looks of it, that might be the worst of it. We were worried it might have been worse, but that’s about the worst of it.’’
Doty was motionless for several minutes before she was helped up and led to the locker room by team trainer Rosemary Ragle and team doctor Tom Trojian. Auriemma said that Doty did not lose consciousness and that she did not need to go to a hospital.
The UConn medical staff was to evaluate her following the game. More information is expected to be made available tomorrow morning.
“She was better in the locker room,’’ Auriemma said. “She’s really hurt. Scared. All those things. You get hit in the back of the head that’s not a good thing. But she’s alert. She moving around. How are you going to hurt her, especially in the head.’’
For what it’s worth, Tiffany Hayes said via her Twitter account that Doty does not have a concussion. “No concussion everybody,” she said.
Rich
Just because she didn’t lose consciousness doesn’t mean she didn’t sustain a concussion. And though she was motionless for several minutes, no one took her to a hospital to be evaluated by doctors? That’s insane! With all of the publicity surrounding concussions in sports today, UConn should have been more on the ball than that.
Comment by Sean — March 9th, 2010 @ 11:20 am
Sean,
“UConn should have been more on the ball than that”. What are you talking about! The UCONN team doctor was at Caroline’s side within 30 seconds of Caroline getting hit. He tested her and made the decision not not to send her to a hospital. The same team doctor announced she did not have a concussion.
What more could UCONN have done to be “more on the ball”?
Comment by BAMBAM — March 9th, 2010 @ 12:19 pm
Geno is a great coach because he cares about his players first and then the game outcome second. I am sure even if the Doctor(s) clear Doty to play and he feels otherwise, he will not put her in.
I do not know which procedure might give Geno and the doctors more insight to her health but maybe a cat scan or x-rays might clarify if a concussion actually happened. Better to be safe than sorry.
Reflect on the skiing accident of Natasha Richardson, wife of actor Liam Neeson, who was injured on a ski slope. She had no apparent signs of serious injury but hours later ran into complications. I know these two accidents are not identical but no one wants to see her collapse on the floor in tonight’s game.
Comment by Kevin in PA — March 9th, 2010 @ 12:52 pm
Just look at Elliott’s follow-up article today. Doty “was not right”, and Coach Auriemma took her out in the second half. She was still suffering after-effects of that concussion. I don’t expect Geno to be an expert on brain injuries. But I do expect UConn to follow the most modern procedures and precautions in dealing with concussions, especially since we’re beginning to know so much more about how dangerous they are and how widespread. As anyone who’s read the NYT knows, a “dinger” is a concussion, and even if a player just seems woozy, they’ve still sustained brain damage.
I think a good investigative article about this will reveal that the medical staff blew it, Doty should have been taken to the hospital on Monday for observation, and she never should have been sent out onto the court on Tuesday.
Comment by Sean — March 10th, 2010 @ 10:15 am