Two Kentucky WBB athletes out indefinitely with lower leg injuries

The Kentucky women’s basketball season hasn’t officially started yet, and the ‘Cats are already dealing with injuries. Not one, but two new Wildcats sustained lower leg injuries in the offseason, and now are “out indefinitely.”

“University of Kentucky women’s basketball graduate guard Jordan Obi and sophomore guard Dominika Paurová have sustained lower leg injuries and are out indefinitely,” UK announced in a press release.

Paurová was first injured in an international game on July 14 while playing against Iceland. The guard is a part of the Czech Republic’s national team, and had previously been dominating during the summer league. Paurová wasn’t supposed to arrive to Lexington until August, but now the timeline is unclear due to her injury.

The Czech Republic native played one season at Oregon State before entering the transfer portal to come to Kentucky. She played in all 35 games her freshman season at Oregon State, including four games in the team’s NCAA Tournament run. Paurová averaged 5.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. She shot 48% from the field, including 37.2% from beyond the arc.

Kentucky WBB guard Dominika Paurová suffered what appears to be a knee injury today against Iceland.

Have not heard what the true extent of the injury is, but it doesn’t sound good. pic.twitter.com/cdx59u2b6q

— Phoenix Stevens (@PStevensKSR) July 15, 2024

On the other hand, Jordan Obi’s status is unclear. There’s no specific timeframe of when the forward was injured, and there’s no information on the severity of her injury. Though, Obi’s injury seems to be recent based on official social media posts featuring the guard. KSR predicted Obi to be one of the main contributors to the ‘Cats this year, but her future is up in the air.

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As a senior at Penn, Obi averaged 14.7 points and team-high 7.7 rebounds per game. She added 65 assists and 38 blocks over 28 games. The guard shot 149-344 (43.3%) from the field, including 34-88 (38.6%) from the perimeter. Obi also managed to surpass double-digits in 22 games her final season at Penn.

Despite being a graduate student, Obi would be eligible to take a medical redshirt if the injury would leave her unavailable through the course of the season. In order to be eligible, the injury must be season ending and have occurred before the halfway point of the season. Plus, the player must not have played in over 30% of the team’s games that season.

Fortunately, Kentucky WBB’s season begins on Nov. 4, per a source close to the program. That should give the pair ample time to recover depending on the injury itself. But of course, nothing is more important than a safe, healthy, and full recovery.