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Indianapolis, IN — Indiana Fever guard Maggie Lucas will miss the entire 2017 season as she continues to recover from a knee injury, the team reported today via Twitter.
Maggie Lucas will miss the 2017 season as she continues to rehab her knee. We wish her the best of luck on her recovery. Thank you, Maggie! pic.twitter.com/ga0eiKl1E7
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) April 21, 2017
Lucas suffered a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in her right knee during the fourth game of the season last year against the Minnesota Lynx at the Target Center on May 27, 2016.
When the Fever initially reported the injury on June 1st, the team expected Lucas to be ready for the 2017 season.
This comes as a huge blow to an Indiana team that will play its first season in 15 years without Tamika Catchings, who retired after the 2016 season.
Lucas averaged 7.8 points, 2 rebounds and 0.8 steals through four games last season. She came off the bench in each of those games.
The Penn State graduate is now in her fourth season with the WNBA. Earlier this month the Fever posted this video, with the final shot of Lucas’ 25 consecutive makes, so this news is a bit surprising. It remains to be seen what the exact reason is for the setback.
The Fever lost in the first round of the playoffs last season in a one-game series to the Phoenix Mercury. Indiana tips off preseason action on May 2 against the Mystics and regular season action on May 14 at Seattle.