The season is just five games old, and the Liberty already have received potentially devastating news on the injury front.
Guard/forward Essence Carson, a five-year veteran from Rutgers, was diagnosed with a season-ending torn ACL in her left knee. The announcement came before the Liberty’s 76-67 victory Sunday over the Atlanta Dream at Prudential Center in Newark.
The injury happened during the Liberty’s 75-56 loss in Atlanta on Friday night. With just under four minutes remaining in the first half, Carson was driving towards the basket on a fast break when her leg gave way as she made a cut.
“As soon as it happened, I knew [I had torn my ACL],” Carson said after the game. “When you were a kid, if you ever popped a pencil, it just snapped in half. [Bang]. I felt excruciating pain, the type of pain that doesn’t even allow you to cry. All I could do was yell, and I couldn’t stop.”
The pain eventually subsided, and Carson immediately began to think about what would come next for her.
“Once I was able to get off the floor, I understood what was going on,” she said. “I’ve had many teammates go through this, and I’ve seen their road to recovery. I know it’s something I can come back from.”
Carson also shared her perspective from watching Sunday’s game on the bench.
“The team came together,” she said. “Everybody stepped up and did their part. Our team defense got us over the hump, and that didn’t happen on Friday. I’m glad we got the victory.”
When asked about what qualities of Carson’s the team will try to replace, head coach Bill Laimbeer said, “She’s arguably our best defender, and she was averaging 17 points per game. She was off to a good start, but that’s reality of professional sports. You have to move on.”
The Liberty are 1-0 in the post-Carson era. But logic dictates losing a player of her caliber will eventually catch up with them.