Sophomore guard Whitney Hand, the 2008-09 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, will miss the rest of the Oklahoma women's basketball season.

Hand tore the anterior cruciate ligament of her right knee in last Friday's 87-48 Sooner victory over then-No. 23 San Diego State. The extent of the injury was confirmed Monday afternoon.

"All of us are aching individually and collectively for Whitney right now because she loves to play basketball," OU coach Sherri Coale said. "Although we lose her tangible presence on the floor we won't lose the intangible quality of her leadership. We would ask the Sooner Nation to keep Whitney in their thoughts and prayers and to stand united alongside our team as we move forward in our season."

The injury will require reconstructive knee surgery and several months of rehabilitation.

The game was OU's fifth of the season.

The Sooners will pursue a medical redshirt for Hand that would allow her to come back next season with three years of eligibility still remaining.

Out of Liberty Christian High School and hailing from Fort Worth, Texas, Hand exits the season averaging 13.4 points per game. She had already scored 10 against the Aztecs before going down 1:42 before the half.

Only the removal of point guard Danielle Robinson from the lineup would be considered a blow of similar proportion to coach Sherri Coale's program.

As is, the Sooners have lost their best outside shooter and their presumptive leading scorer. Making matters more difficult, Hand was already one of only 10 players on the Sooner roster.

Coale might choose to start one of her freshman posts, Joanna McFarland the more likely pick over Lyndsey Cloman, to fill Hand's place among the starting five, however that choice would also necessitate a slightly different approach on the floor.

Should Coale stick with her, essentially, one-post-surrounded-by-four-guards starting lineup, junior Carlee Roethlisberger figures to be the new Sooner starter.

Clay Horning 366-3526 cfhorning@normantranscript.com