The USF ladies got some bad news today as Coach Fernandez announced that senior guard Andrea Smith, who has not played all season due to the recovery process after ACL surgery, will redshirt this season (Voodoo 5). Smith, who averaged 16.5 points a game last season, tore her ACL in the first round of the Big East tournament. She has not been cleared by the medical staff and instead of risking further injury, it appears the coaches have decided to sit her for the rest of the year and have fully healthy for next season.
This is really bad news for this season. The ladies are at 6-5 right now, struggling to get any offense going. They have played a long road schedule already, going out to Alaska and back already, playing at the Rec center, and now will enter the Big East schedule without their leading scorer. USF will get Inga Orekhova in a few weeks for the start of conference play, but losing a talent like Smith is rough.
But there is hope for the team. With only one senior leaving after this season, Jasmine Wynne, the Bulls will return all their top players, including Andrea and twin sister Andrell Smith. They will also have Caitlin Rowe, Orekhova, and the strong recruiting class that Fernandez has put together. The team will be loaded, but they still face a tough season in 2011-2012.
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