UConn forward Kyla Irwin’s season over with fractured elbow

UConn forward Kyla Irwin will miss the remainder of her senior season with a fractured left elbow, the school announced Monday.

Irwin, a State College Area High School graduate, was expected to have surgery Monday afternoon. She fell while going for an offensive rebound on Sunday in the Huskies’ 79-38 win over South Florida in the American Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals.

“She’s one of the captains of our team, we love Kyla to death,” guard Chirstyn Williams said after the game. “So of course, that hurts.”

Irwin played in 28 games for the Huskies this season, starting 18, and averaged 3.1 points and 2.6 rebounds.

Coach Geno Auriemma said Sunday that Irwin had been playing with a broken finger and a foot injury that also will require surgery.

“She’s a kid that does impact your team, whether she’s playing or not, whether she has the ball or not, whether she’s shooting well or not,” Auriemma said, according to the Hartford Courant. “She has an infectious kind of personality that makes your team better. And that’s rare in today’s day and age. And we’re going to miss that going forward.”

Connecticut was to play Cincinnati on Monday night, looking for its seventh consecutive AAC tournament title.

This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 12:17 PM.