2017 Women’s Basketball Tournament: “Fantasy” Doctor Weighs in on Brianna Turner’s Injury

Notre Dame won’t release the results of junior center Brianna Turner’s MRI until today. In the absence of solid information, the self-described “fantasy doctor” weighed in.

On his website, Dr. Selene Parekh wrote of Turner’s injury — suffered Sunday in the Irish’s Round of 32 win over Purdue: “Depending on issues, could miss some playing time. Best case – sprain. Worse case – ligament injury or bone bruising.”

(Dr. Parekh has not evaluated Turner personally. He’s just going off what he saw on television.)

We’re optimists, so let’s assume a best case scenario. What do Harvard doctors tell us about the expected recovery time of a knee sprain?

“How long a knee sprain lasts depends on the type of knee sprain, the severity of your injury, your rehabilitation program and the types of sports you play. In general, milder Grade I and Grade II MCL or LCL sprains heal within 2 to 4 weeks, but other types of knee sprains may take 4 to 12 months.”

That would put Turner’s return to the court anywhere from April 2 to April 16. The women’s championship game is April 2.

The Irish next play the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday in Lexington, Ky.

NOTRE DAME SENIOR ATTAINS #1 WORLD RANKING

Lee Kiefer, a two-time Olympian and three-time NCAA champion, made history Sunday when the Notre Dame senior became the first American woman to win the FIE Grand Prix and attain the No. 1 world ranking in the foil discipline.

“Besides an Olympic medal, obtaining a world No. 1 ranking has always been my dream,” Kiefer told U.S. Fencing.

Kiefer — who is 31-0 this year — and the Irish will compete at the NCAA championship, which starts Thursday in Indianapolis.

PARAOLYMPIAN MEDALIST ACCEPTED INTO NOTRE DAME

Remember Sam Grewe?

The 2012 Notre Dame football team “adopted” the Goshen native right before his leg was amputated to stem the spread of a rare bone cancer. Grewe joined the team on the field during their run up to the BCS National Championship Game.

Grewe was declared cancer-free nearly a year after the amputation, competed afterward in track and field and won a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Paraolympic Games in the high jump.

Grewe tweeted Monday that he was accepted into Notre Dame. Congratulations to him and all those who received their admissions decisions recently!

POLL UPDATES

Men’s Lacrosse

Midfielder Sergio Perkovic was announced Monday at the ACC Offensive Player of the Week following a three-goal effort against Virginia.

The Irish men (4-1) remain at No. 2 after beating the Cavaliers, 11-10, in overtime to open ACC play. Virginia slipped from No. 12 to No. 15 in this week’s Inside Lacrosse poll.

Notre Dame next plays at 2 p.m. Saturday against Ohio State (9-0), which jumped from No. 17 all the way to No. 4 in the new poll. The Buckeyes beat then-No. 11 Towson and then-No. 1 Denver in the last week. (The Tigers are now No. 16, while the Pioneers have fallen all the way to No. 7.)

Women’s Lacrosse

The Irish women (8-4) dropped from No. 10 to No. 16 in the Inside Lacrosse poll following a 14-11 loss at Towson and a 15-5 loss at Virginia. Virginia (4-4) is now ranked No. 20, while Towson moved up from No. 20 to No. 15.

The Irish next play the Syracuse Orange (8-2), who dropped from No. 6 to No. 8 in this week’s poll following a 19-12 loss to No. 3 Florida and a 17-16 overtime win over Harvard, who is unranked.

Men’s Hockey

The Irish (21-11-5) slipped from No. 10 to No. 12 in the USCHO rankings following their Hockey East tournament semifinal loss to UMass-Lowell.

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

• 6:05 p.m.: Notre Dame baseball (6-12) will host Northern Illinois (4-15) at Frank Eck Stadium. The Irish took two of three from the Pitt Panthers this past weekend and are 2-3 in ACC play. WatchND will broadcast the game online; WHME 103.1 FM will broadcast the game in the South Bend area.