(Editor’s note: Montana State University press release)
BOZEMAN – Montana State women’s basketball senior Claire Lundberg will miss the remainder of the 2019 season after suffering a torn ACL to her right knee during the second-half of MSU’s game against Northern Colorado on Feb. 4 in Shroyer Gym.
Lundberg’s injury was confirmed following an MRI on Friday afternoon. She met with MSU’s team doctor on Monday morning and will have surgery within the next few weeks.
“For any basketball player, it’s the news you never want to hear,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. “You don’t want to see any kid have to go through this but it’s even more difficult being her senior year. Claire is such a fantastic kid and I know she will come back stronger than ever. As a team we will step-up for each other, step-up for her and bounce back from this setback.”
Lundberg, who sat out the 2017-18 season after transferring from Seton Hall, had established herself as one of the top players in the Big Sky Conference and is in the mix to be the league’s top newcomer. The Andover, Minn., product was averaging 17 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from three-point range and 86.8 percent from the line.
In addition, she was ranked second in the Big Sky in free throw percentage, fourth in three-point field goals per game, sixth in scoring, seventh in three-point field goal percentage and 13th in field goal percentage. Lundberg had been in double-figure scoring in 18 of MSU’s 21 games prior to the injury. She had six games with 20 points or more. Lundberg notched a career-high 28 points as the Bobcats defeated Delaware in the preseason WNIT. Against the Blue Hens, she matched a school-record going 11-of-11 from the free throw line.
“We’re grateful we got to have her for the 21 games she played as a Bobcat,” Binford said. “We’re even more grateful that she has been a part of our women’s basketball family. Claire is a selfless kid who gave us great leadership and a tremendous presence on the floor. She is an extremely committed athlete and I know she has a bright future ahead.
“We’ll start helping her with rehab,” Binford added. “It’s a long process, but we have people in the department and in the community that will support her through the summer and make sure she’s on the right course for recovery. She has goals to play professionally, and we’ll help her in any way to make that happen.”
A physics major, Lundberg is on course to graduate this spring.