Penn State Women’s Basketball: Kelly Jekot sidelined with season-ending injury

Mallory Merda The Sentinel

Penn State women’s basketball will be without leading scorer Kelly Jekot for the rest of the season.

The Cumberland Valley grad suffered a season-ending injury prior to Sunday’s game against Northwestern, according to The Daily Collegian.

Jekot’s lost presence was definitely felt by the Nittany Lions, struggling on all fronts in a 67-50 loss.

“We’re the third youngest team in the country, so when you lose that experience, it’s going to hurt,” head coach Carolyn Kieger told The Daily Collegian. “Kelly has such a high IQ and she shares it very well. I think our team was definitely feeling that tonight. We’ve got to hit the drawing board and figure out how to make up for her scoring, minutes and rebounds.”

Jekot led the team with 15.9 points per game and was second in rebounds with 61.

This is the second season-ending injury for Jekot in her collegiate career. The first came during the 2018-19 season with Villanova when she tore her ACL, MCL, PCL and lateral meniscus and also injured her hamstring. The injury sidelined her for the entire 2019-20 season, and she moved to Penn State as a graduate transfer.

Jekot, a two-time Gatorade Pennsylvania Girls Basketball Player of the Year, helped lead Cumberland Valley to three straight PIAA titles during her high school career.