Star freshman Him-Lazarenko injured in marquee win

By Earl Zukerman

MONTREAL – Anneth Him-Lazarenko, a star freshman with the McGill Martlets and leading scorer in the Quebec University Basketball League, will miss the remainder of the season.

The 5-foot-10 forward, named Monday as the McGill female athlete of the week, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee during the fourth quarter of last Saturday’s 80-67 road victory over UQAM.

With just over eight minutes remaining and McGill comfortably ahead 69-49, Him-Lazarenko fell to the ground while going for an offensive rebound, and got tangled up with two other players. She was carried off on a stretcher, putting an abrupt end to the best rookie campaign by a McGill player in 16 years, since Hall of Famer Vicky Tessier first suited up for the Martlets in 1992-93. Tessier, who was a five-time all-Canadian and won CIS rookie-of-the-year honours, also suffered as season-ending torn ACL, albeit in her sophomore campaign. She battled back the next year and by her senior season, she earned CIS basketball player-of-the-year honours.

Him-Lazarenko, a 21-year-old education major who joined the Martlets out of Vanier College last fall, is the top-scoring freshman in the nation and leads the QUBL scoring race with a 14.8 points-per-game average. She is ranked third among QUBL rebounding leaders (7.9), fourth in field-goal shooting (48.0), sixth in free-throw shooting (71.8), ninth in steals (1.5) and fourth in minutes played (31.4).

The loss of Him-Lazarenko was a tough blow to head coach Ryan Thorne and his Martlets, who have won four of their last five games. They sit fourth in the QUBL standings with a 5-7 record and four games remaining before playoffs. McGill, which currently has a grip on the last post-season berth, are six points ahead of last-place Concordia (2-8), who hold two games in hand. The Martlets have a bye this week and will resume play with a home-and-home series against division-leading Laval (8-2), beginning at McGill’s Love Competition Hall on Feb. 13.