HAWK CENTRAL

Iowa women's basketball: Hawkeyes lose center Sharon Goodman to torn ACL

Dargan Southard
Hawk Central

IOWA CITY — An offseason full of buzz and hype took an unfortunate turn for Iowa women's basketball.  

Reserve center Sharon Goodman has a torn ACL in her right knee, the program announced Thursday after receiving the news Monday. The 6-foot-3 sophomore suffered the season-ending injury in a recent practice.    

"We are sad to lose Sharon for the year and that she will have to undergo surgery to repair the ligament," Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said in a news release. "I have complete faith in our medical care here at Iowa, and I know that Sharon will rehab hard after surgery and return to our team as strong as ever.

"Sharon was in the midst of a great offseason and obviously would have contributed to her team on the court. Sharon is a great teammate and will still contribute to our team success, just in a different manner."

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Iowa center Sharon Goodman (40) drives to the basket as a trio of Wisconsin players defend during a NCAA Big Ten Conference women's basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.

Goodman played in all 30 games last season, averaging 3.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 8.7 minutes per game. Her role was expected to increase as the top post option behind all-Big Ten senior Monika Czinano.    

Now, the Hawkeyes must find extra interior depth ahead of what's expected to be a special season. Iowa will likely begin the year ranked in the top 10 — or at least in the top 15 — and will need weapons behind Czinano to step up significantly.

Extra contributions from sophomore forward Shateah Wetering, senior forward Logan Cook and freshman post Addison O'Grady are likely required now.

The Hawkeyes begin the regular season Nov. 9 versus New Hampshire.    

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Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.