Although the Blue Devils initially expected to add depth in the backcourt about midway through the season, they will have to make do with their current crop of guards as they look to contend for an ACC regular-season title.
Haley Gorecki will miss the rest of the season and redshirt, Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said Tuesday. As a freshman last year, Gorecki played in 14 games before suffering a hip injury and missing the rest of the 2015-16 season.
The 6-foot guard had setback while recovering from the injury last offseason, pushing back her expected return to December 2016, but the Palatine, Ill., native will wait until next year to rejoin her team having already missed 20 games this season.
Duke could have used another sharpshooter coming off the bench to complement leading scorers Rebecca Greenwell and Lexie Brown, but the No. 14 Blue Devils have managed so far without Gorecki. After missing the NCAA tournament last season for the first time in 22 years, Duke is 17-3 and 5-2 in the ACC, with four top-20 wins at home already on its resume.
In the first NCAA tournament seed projections of the year, the Blue Devils were slotted as a No. 3 seed. They have a huge game at No. 8 Notre Dame Thursday evening and are currently tied for third in the conference standings—one game behind the Fighting Irish and No. 6 Florida State in the loss column. The Seminoles trounced Duke by 24 points earlier this season.
Gorecki will have three more years of eligibility left and should once again figure to add depth in the backcourt with the Blue Devils expected to return Brown, Greenwell and sophomore guard Kyra Lambert next season.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.