Kentucky women’s basketball starting point guard Janee Thompson suffered a dislocated left ankle which resulted in a broken fibular against top-ranked South Carolina on Sunday in Columbia, S.C., and will miss the remainder of the season.
Surgery is schedule for Monday at the UK Hospital in Lexington, Ky.
Kentucky went on to drop a 68-60 decision to the Gamecocks, who rallied from a 38-35 halftime deficit.
Thompson, a 5-foot-7 junior, sustained the injury at the 4:06 mark of the second half, scrambling for a loose ball. She left the game with nine points, a team-high tying five rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes of action.
“We are so sad for Janee,” UK Hoops head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “We never want to see a player sustain an injury like that. We are particularly sad for Janee because she’s worked so hard and has really come into her own.
“She will continue to make an impact on our team with her leadership. She will stay heavily involved and everyone will just have to raise their level up to contribute and make up for a tough loss. We are going to play as hard as we can for Janee and make sure we have a special season for her.”
Thompson, a native of Chicago, finishes the season averaging 10.1 points per game, including 10.3 ppg in four Southeastern Conference games. The two-time SEC Player of the Week was the team’s leader in assists with 52 and ranked second in steals with 29. She also was tops in free-throw shooting percentage, hitting at a 78.1 percent clip (50-of-64).
She has started in 50 of 86 career games, including a team-high 31 consecutive.
Mitchell was also ejected from the game for arguing about foul calls shortly after Thompson was injured. UK was whistled for 22 fouls compared to 13 for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina took advantage of a cold start by Kentucky in the second half to take command of the game. The Wildcats missed 12 of their first 14 shots after South Carolina switched to a zone defense.
Jennifer O’Neill led the Cats with 13 points and freshman Alexis Jennings notched 10 points and four rebounds. Linnae Harper and Thompson each contributed nine points.
Kentucky shot just 32.8 percent from the field (22 of 67), including 4 of 16 from three-point range. South Carolina was slightly better (33.8 percent). The home team’s big advantage was on the boards, where it out-rebounded Kentuc ky by a 55-37 margin.
Tiffany Mitchell had 19 points to lead the Gamecocks, with 13 coming in the second half.
UK falls to 1-17 all-time against No. 1 teams, but may well get another chance later this year. South Carolina visits Memorial Coliseum on March 1 for Senior Day.
No. 10/11 Kentucky (14-3, 3-1 SEC) returns to action Thursday, Jan. 15 vs. Florida in Memorial Coliseum. Game time is 7 p.m. on the SEC Network.
From UK Athletics