UNLV women’s basketball team loses two players to injuries

UNLV women's basketball sophomore Alyssa Anderson and junior Diamond Major have suffered season-ending injuries –with a career-ending diagnosis for Major – Lady Rebels coach Kathy Oliver announced Tuesday.

Anderson suffered a torn ACL in her left knee during a preseason practice. She will face surgery to repair the knee. Las Vegas native Major will retire from the sport after repeated concussions suffered in high school and college games.

"It's never easy when you lose a player much less two experienced players right before the season opener," Olivier said in a statement. "Alyssa is a big loss for us, her knowledge of the game was outstanding and she worked so hard in the offseason, she was definitely going to play a bigger role on our team this year and we're really going to miss her.

"Diamond was so comfortable and confident after being in our system the past two years and was one of our top defensive stoppers as well. It's horrible that she is never going to be able to play competitive basketball again."

Anderson played 20 games last season and averaged 4.7 minutes, scoring 19 points. Major has played in 44 games, tallying 43 points, 41 rebounds, 20 assists and 11 steals.

The Lady Rebels play an exhibition game 7 p.m. Monday at Cox Pavilion against Alaska-Anchorage. Their season opener is 3 p.m. Nov. 14 against Southern Utah in the Thomas & Mack Center.

Bill Bradley can be reached at bbradley@reviewjournal.com or at 702-387-2909. Follow him on Twitter: @billbradleyLV