SOUTH KINGSTON- Beth Friday averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds for Duquesne this season, but the stat line from her final collegiate game will read 0 points, 0 rebounds, and one minute played. It actually took less than 30 seconds.
After an Ugo Oha miss on the first possession of the game, Friday came down awkwardly under the basket amid several players and fell to the floor. She was helped to the bench without letting her left foot touch the ground.
“It happened so quickly it was hard to tell whether it was an ankle or a knee,” Duquesne head coach Dan Durkin said. “But she’s a really tough kid, so when she didn’t respond real quickly, we knew it was going to be something a little more serious than just turning the ankle.”
While the extent of Friday’s injury is still unknown, the forward kept ice on her left ankle for the entire first half. After halftime, she attempted to walk up and down the tunnel using a brace and an air cast but she grimaced in pain. Friday finally took off her sock and shoe, and had ice taped to the ankle for the remainder of the game.
“It was hard to just sit there,” Friday said in a statement released to the press. “I tried jumping and running but it just hurt too hard. I wanted to play in the second half.”
Khaliha Este-Shehu also missed extensive action for the Dukes after catching an elbow to the face in the first half. She only played eight minutes and did not have any points or rebounds.
Without them, Duquesne still kept the game close. While GW held a seven-point halftime lead, the Dukes cut their deficit to one midway through the second half. They could not manage to tie the game however, and GW used long range shooting to the put Duquesne away.
“The team brought it together and played well without the two of us in there,” Friday said. “GW did a better job down the line with their experience.”
Colonials head coach Joe McKeown thought that Friday’s injury “fired up” the opposition, but Durkin dismissed that notion.
“I think we were fired up the whole time,” he said. “I don’t know if it was really a rallying cry. I think we came out pretty focused to play hard to try and beat the best.”
GW’s Cathy Joens, who red-shirted her sophomore season after an ACL tear, said she has empathy for Friday.
“My heart goes out to her. This was the last game she played in and she makes a big difference for their team. That’s their go-to player. I just feel bad for her and I wish her the best of luck.”
