Just 16 seconds into the fourth quarter, Indiana women’s basketball junior guard Yarden Garzon was attempting to corral a loose ball. So too was Wisconsin graduate student guard Natalie Leuzinger,
Leuzinger ran into Garzon’s legs, undercutting her and causing the guard to fall to the floor. The Hoosier faithful inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday collectively gasped, holding their breaths.
After laying on the court for approximately a minute, Garzon collected herself and walked off the floor under her own power alongside athletic trainer Ben Tate. She was evaluated by Tate on the bench before walking toward the locker room through the northwest tunnel and later back to the bench with ice on her left ankle.
“No update as of right now,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said after the Hoosiers’ 31-point victory. “It was late in the game. (The athletic trainers) have her in the training room right now doing some recovery and rehab. And then I think that as the days go by, we’ll probably know a little bit more tomorrow and the next day.”
Garzon’s injury comes nearly a week after graduate student guard Sydney Parrish returned from a left knee injury that sidelined her for five games. The Hoosiers were also without junior guard Lexus Bargesser for the first four games of the season while sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont and freshman forward Sydney Fenn are each out for the season.
Through 13 games this season, Garzon is averaging 14.1 points per game and 4.8 rebounds, spearheading the Hoosiers’ offensive attack.
“She’s the person we count on the most when it comes to making a shot and or helping us get the shot we want,” Moren said. “She’s reliable and somebody that we count on. Fingers crossed that she is back at practice on Monday.”
Since Garzon arrived at Indiana ahead of the 2022-23 season, she has yet to miss a game as she’s started all 77 of the Hoosiers’ games since.
Indiana (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten) has a week off before hosting No. 1 UCLA at noon Jan. 4. The contest will be nationally televised on Fox.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
