Kolleen Bouchard of Houlton was making a smooth transition to Division II basketball at Bentley University. Now, her freshman season is over.
Bouchard, who was chosen Miss Maine Basketball and the Gatorade Player of the Year last season, has been lost for the season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her knee.
Bentley University head coach Barbara Stevens said Bouchard was injured during a “1-on-1 defensive drill in practice” earlier this week and will meet on Monday with a surgeon in Boston.
“It’s such a shame,” said Stevens. “We were extremely pleased with her progress and the role she was playing for us.”
The 6-foot Bouchard was the first guard off the bench for the 12-1 Falcons, who are ranked 11th in NCAA Division II. She was averaging 7.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 19.8 minutes per game.
“She is such a great facilitator,” said Stevens. “When she attacks the basket, he vision is fantastic. She will either clear the lane to finish or she’ll find the open player.
Bouchard was shooting 47.9 percent from the floor, 67.6 percent from the foul line and 25 percent beyond the 3-point arc.
“She could get to the rim whenever she wanted to and not a lot of kids can do that. She had really settled into a great role,” Stevens said.
A nagging back injury limited Bouchard’s preseason workouts, so Stevens said she had a lot of ground to make up before stepping on the court for their first practice on Oct. 15.
“She wasn’t able to do the the preseason work so she was starting from scratch in terms of skill development, particularly on defense,” said Stevens. “But she made great strides. She knows the game, she understands the game. She is skilled.”
Bouchard scored in double digits four times, including a career-high 13 points in an 83-71 victory over Assumption on Nov. 20. She also had a career-high six assists in that game.
She had a career-high seven rebounds and two blocked shots in a 91-56 victory over St. Michael’s on Dec. 1 and she also dished out five assists.
Stevens called Bouchard a versatile player who can fill a number of different roles and can score from anywhere with either hand.
“We played her on the wing but we also ran a set where we would run her into the post and post her up against a guard. That would create a mismatch,” said Stevens.
Stevens said the silver lining is that Bouchard will have the ability to become even stronger, physically, through the rehabilitation that will be required after the knee surgery.
“She is 100 percent committed to her rehab,” said Stevens. “She knows how hard she’s going to have to work to get back and I think she’ll be even better when she returns.”
Bouchard finished her high school career with a school-record 2,046 points and she was a three-time Bangor Daily News All-Maine Schoolgirl first-team selection after being a second-team choice her freshman year.
This article originally appeared on www.bangordailynews.com.
