Women’s college basketball stars sidelined: key absences shaping this season

Chloe Kitts (South Carolina), Addy Brown (Iowa State), and Jana El Alfy (UConn) are working on rehabbing injuries.

Two months out from Selection Sunday and a few impactful ballers are without their dance shoes, but not by choice.

It’s the biggest annual ball of them all — March Madness — in women’s college basketball and a handful of coaches are cornered with a tough decision to either allow their stars back in the lineup or to bench them for a full recovery.

Finding replacements means a new opportunity for another athlete to compete, and a chance to cultivate a deeper roster leading up to the postseason playoffs.

The Iowa State Cyclones are on a four-game losing streak after a shocking turn of events.

They began the season with 14 straight wins. Their recent losses were largely brought on due to the loss of junior guard Addy Brown. 

Brown was a key offensive force for Iowa State, leading the team in rebounds and blocks per game, as well as being second in points per game behind star center Audi Crooks.

The Cyclones will be without Brown for an “indefinite amount of time due to a lower body injury,” according to media reports.

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With the fast-approaching tournament on everyone’s mind, and the Cyclones hoping to lock in a high seed, they will need to a strategize quickly to keep Final Four hopes alive. 

UConn women’s basketball is ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division I Net Rankings, and they are one of only three undefeated teams left in the top 25.

The Huskies are looking like a favorite for the National Championship. The only thing that could possibly stand in their way are injuries. 

The Huskies are without 6-foot-5 center Jana El Alfy after she got hit in the head by a bad pass in practice causing a concussion in early January. Previous to her injury, the sophomore had back-to-back impressive games for UConn, scoring at least 10 points with five or more rebounds. 

Ice Brady, redshirt junior, has also been out for the Huskies since November due to inflammation in her knee, an injury that has been ongoing since her freshman year.

The coaching staff has said — according to media reports — they are not confident that Brady will make a return this season. If that is the case, she would be eligible to redshirt this season. 

The South Carolina Gamecocks have continually been one of the best teams in women’s college basketball, winning three championships in the past 10 years. This season they are currently ranked at No. 3 in the country, behind UConn and UCLA. 

Though this is still a very respectable ranking, the Gamecocks are more accustomed to being the top team in the country. This season, however, injuries have put a dent in their depth and their power as a program.

Key players Ashlyn Watkins and Chloe Kitts are out for South Carolina for the reminder of the 2025-26 season. 

Watkins tore her ACL in January 2025, and decided to take the 2025-26 season off of both school and sport to rehab for the 2026-27 season. The forward previously averaged 9 points and over 9 rebounds per game for the Gamecocks, and her absence has been felt on offense this season.

Kitts tore her ACL at the beginning of the 2025-26 season, and will not return due to rehabbing from surgery for a minimum of nine months. This loss leaves a big gap in South Carolina’s offensive strength, and the Gamecocks have struggled to fill that gap leading to numerous close games since Kitt’s injury. 

Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Clara Romae Slowinski is a student-intern at Penn State University.