BATON ROUGE -- LSU senior point guard Destini Hughes will miss the remainder of the season after sustaining a right knee injury in the first half of the Lady Tigers' road game at ninth-ranked Tennessee on Thursday, LSU head coach Nikki Caldwell has announced.
An MRI on Friday morning revealed torn ligaments and a torn meniscus in her right knee. Hughes injured the knee with 1.3 seconds left in the first half when she landed awkwardly in an attempt to catch a cross-court inbound pass. She was carted off the floor and her knee was immobilized in an air cast.
"Destini has been a leader and a critical part of our success this season," said Caldwell. "She's the kind of person and player that makes her teammates better. We feel for her but know she will continue to be a leader for us even through this tough time. All of the coaching staff and her teammates wish her nothing but the best in her recovery."
Hughes will have surgery next week conducted by Dr. Brent Bankston.
Hughes, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, started all 18 games at point guard this season and was LSU's fourth leading scorer with 7.3 points per game. The senior was playing the best stretch of her career entering Thursday's play after putting up six straight games of nine or more points. In six Southeastern Conference games, Hughes was LSU's second leading scorer with 10.7 points per contest.
Since her freshman season of 2008-09, Hughes has played in 110 career games with 43 starts. Hughes accounted for 207 career assists. She earned her undergraduate degree from LSU last semester, graduating in pre-veterinary medicine.
Information provided by LSU Sports
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and WAFB, a Raycom Media Station. 