Already short-handed, the Colorado women’s basketball team suffered a key loss Wednesday when starting center Kara Richards had surgery to repair a broken toe.
Richards, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, suffered the injury in practice Tuesday. She’s expected to be out four to six weeks, which should get her back for the start of the Big 12 season.
“She feels like she let her teammates down, but she’s handling it pretty well,” new coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. “We’ll just have to make some adjustments until she can get back.”
Sophomore forward Jackie McFarland, who swung between both positions last season, will be the starting center Friday when the Buffs open the regular season against Cal State-Fullerton at the CU Events Center, with junior forward Anna Nedovic moving to the four position.
“Jackie’s fine there,” McConnell-Miller said. “She gets a lot of her buckets 5 to 7 feet around the basket anyway.”
It also means extended playing time for freshman Caley Dow, a 6-2 forward from Arapahoe High School.
“Caley’s going to need to step up and take on some minutes, but she can handle it,” McConnell-Miller said. “Caley’s got a lot of weapons.”
The Buffs started the season with just 10 eligible players and lost their only other true center, senior Tami Garnett, to knee surgery in August. She recently returned to a full practice schedule but is not expected to be ready for Friday.
Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
