INDIANAPOLIS — Hours after the Purdue women’s basketball team canceled a trip to Mexico because of a sick teammate, a team doctor said junior forward Drey Mingo is progressing in her recovery.
Mingo was hospitalized Tuesday night with bacterial meningitis, an inflammation of the coverings around the brain and spine that can be fatal. The Boilermakers’ second-leading scorer (17.3) is listed in stable but critical condition at an undisclosed hospital in West Lafayette, Ind., and has a long way to go to recover.
“She’s had some improvements in her mental status that indicate some of the inflammation has decreased,” team physician Alayne Sundstrom said Wednesday. “But because of the inflammation around the central nervous system, it’s still critical.”
Mingo is expected to be treated with antibiotics for another two weeks. The Boilermakers (4-0) were scheduled to play Montana today and Florida Golf Coast on Friday in the Caribbean Challenge in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. They will not be forced to forfeit those games.
Female boxer shot, stabbed
APOPKA, Fla. — Christy Martin, who gained fame as the world’s best-known female boxer, was seriously injured by her husband Tuesday, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Martin, 42, ran away from her house and flagged down a motorist, who took her to Florida Hospital North. Doctors determined Martin, who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in April 1996, had been shot and stabbed in the torso and left leg. She is expected to survive her injuries, officials said.
Martin (49-5-3, 32 knockouts) was conscious when deputies arrived at the hospital and told them her attacker was her 66-year-old husband Jim Martin, who remains at large.
• Former NFL running back Herschel Walker has a deep cut under his left eye that will prevent him from fighting his second professional mixed martial arts bout against Scott Carson on Dec. 4 in St. Louis.
Walker said he hopes to fight as soon as the cut heals, which likely will require several weeks.
Pirates send Duke to Arizona
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates traded left-hander Zach Duke to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a player to be named.
After designating Duke for assignment last Friday, the Pirates had 10 days to trade or release him. Duke was 8-15 with a 5.72 ERA in 29 starts last season. He is 37-68 with a 4.80 ERA since debuting with an 8-2 record and 1.81 ERA in 2005.
Footnotes.
Celtics guard Delonte West left Boston’s game against the New Jersey Nets after breaking his right wrist in the second quarter. An immediate prognosis was not available.
• Philadelphia 76ers forward Elton Brand was suspended without pay by the NBA for one game for committing a flagrant foul against Washington Wizards center JaVale McGee on Tuesday night.
• Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-2, and Andy Roddick was left with an 0-2 record after a 7-5, 6-3 loss to Tomas Berdych at the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London.
Denver Post wire services
