Maryland women’s basketball’s Blair Watson out for season with torn ACL

Maryland women’s basketball enters Thursday’s meeting with Michigan State riding a 13-game winning streak and ranked 11th in the country. But now the Terps will be without one of their biggest contributors for the rest of the season.

Sophomore guard Blair Watson tore her ACL in practice Wednesday and will have surgery, the team announced. She was averaging 13.8 points per game, second on the team, and shooting 44.1 percent from three-point range, the third-best mark in the Big Ten.

Watson was one of the most improved players in the conference this season. As a freshman, she saw bench minutes behind Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and others, but she’s increased her scoring output more than any other player in the Big Ten.

Her injury is a crushing blow to Maryland, who only has 10 scholarship players and has gone just eight-deep in many big games this season. Watson’s absence will be felt on both ends of the floor going forward.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed for Blair,” head coach Brenda Frese said in a release. “She was having a really fantastic season and we are going to miss her presence and playmaking ability on the court. We’ll do everything we can to help her in her recovery and support her through the process. This team has tremendous chemistry and will continue to compete at a high level.”