Had things gone according to plan, Wright State guard Kim Demmings would be the second player in program history with 2,000 points. At this point, it is unclear when Demmings will score her next points for WSU.
Just 90 seconds into WSU’s season, Demmings landed awkwardly and left a game at Austin Peay last Friday with a season-ending leg injury. Demmings missed the rest of the weekend as the Raiders won at Austin Peay and then again at Lipscomb on Sunday.
WSU head coach Mike Bradbury confirmed Monday that after being evaluated when the team returned home, Demmings will have surgery Thursday and miss the entire season.
Demmings, who is on track to graduate in May with a bachelor’s in organizational leadership, can take a medical redshirt if she decides to finish her senior season next year.
All of a sudden, WSU’s backcourt that appeared to be one of the best in the Horizon League is thin in experience. Joining Demmings on the bench are guards Abby Jump and Symone Denham. Denham was cleared for non-contact work last week.
The only true veteran backcourt player WSU has remaining is Tay’ler Mingo. Mingo scored 30 points in WSU’s win over Lipscomb Sunday. Her weekend performance was enough to earn Horizon League Player of the Week honors.
“She was really good,” Bradbury said. “The way they were going to play us, they were going to make her make plays and she responded to that and played very well.”
The response that Bradbury’s squad showed after losing its star player was exactly what the coach was looking for.
“I thought they responded well,” Bradbury said. “We didn’t have any time to prepare, she gets hurt a minute and a half into the first game so it didn’t give me a chance to change anything. I thought we stepped in and played with confidence.”
Having to use freshmen players in big roles will be necessary to finish the season.
“Those kids are going to grow up a lot faster and they’re talented enough to play,” Bradbury said.
Wright State returns home for a two-game home set starting with WSU’s home opener Thursday versus Murray State.
