Lobo Injured, To Miss Season

June 11, 1999 / 3:04 PM EDT / AP

Rebecco Lobo will miss the rest of the season because of a torn knee ligament, leaving the WNBA without one of its marquee players.

The New York Liberty star has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, an injury that came 42 seconds into her team's season opener Thursday night.

Team physician Dr. Susan Craig-Scott said Lobo will have surgery in two to three weeks and expects her to play next season.

"I never felt anything like this before," Lobo said today. "It's the first injury that's taken me out of commission for this long a time."

Lobo, who has started all 59 Liberty games, twisted her knee during New York's 87-60 victory over Cleveland.

"This is a huge loss to our team," general manager Carol Blazejowski said. "You don't replace a player of Rebecca's caliber overnight."

Lobo's rehabilitation is expected to take six months.

"I hope my New Year's Eve present will be that I will be back on the court," she said.

The former Connecticut star had two MRIs after the game to determine the extent of her injury. The team said the quality of the first MRI was poor, but the results of the second were conclusive.

"She got an offensive rebound and I'm not sure if she came down on someone's foot, but she definitely twisted her knee," said Teresa Weatherspoon, who had 15 points. "It's an awful feeling to know what Rebecca is going through right now. We will definitely pick it up for Rebecca."

On the second possession, Lobo grabbed a rebound after Kym Hampton's missed shot, pivoted and fell to the floor in pain. She clutched her leg for about 30 seconds as play continued at the other end before an official called an injury timeout.

Lobo, who led the team with 6.9 rebounds a game last season, was helped off the floor by Hampton and Sue Wicks.

"She was crying," Wicks said. "I didn't even ask her how she was, she just shook her head. She knew immediately that it was bad."

"Rebecca's so tough that she wouldn't stay on the ground with a twisted ankle or something small. I've never seen her cry, so you know it's bad. You can try, but there's no way to prevent that if it's going to happen."

The loss of Lobo dampened the debut of Liberty coach Richie Adubato.

"The last four or five days, she was rebounding, knocking down jump shots, catching the ball in the low post and making her move," said Adubato, a former NBA coach who was a Knicks assistant in the mid-1980s. "We just have to hope for the best."

Wicks, who played 23 minutes and grabbed six rebounds in place of Lobo, will now see additional minutes, as will rookies Tamika Whitmore and Michele VanGorp.

"Sue brings a lot of intensity, she's very aggressive and she'll do anything to get the job done," Weatherspoon said.

Vickie Johnson led New York with 17 points as the team sho50 percent to win its third consecutive home opener before a crowd of 12,411 at Madison Square Garden.

Johnson scored 13 points in the first half and finished 8-for-11 from the field. Hampton added 15 points for New York, which averaged 55 points last season.

The Rockers played without starters Isabelle Fijalkowski, who remains unsigned, and Eva Nemcova, who just returned from training with the Czech Republic national team. They averaged a combined 25 points last season.

Merlakia Jones was the only Rocker in double figures with 14 points. Alisa Burras and Michelle Edwards added nine points apiece.

Cleveland committed 30 turnovers that translated into 41 points for the Liberty.

"We had a lot of different combinations on the floor," Cleveland coach Linda Hill-MacDonald said. "There are a lot of young faces because all our veterans aren't here yet. Maybe in the long run we'll look back and say it was a good thing because the younger players have to step up."