Lianna Doty hopped off on crutches on Wednesday night while her team headed into the locker room after a close win against Division II Lindenwood.

The junior isn’t used to this.

She’s not used to not starting. She’s not used to not suiting up. She’s not used to not being out on the court with her fellow Tigers, and she’s not used to having to direct her squad from the sidelines.

Doty suffered a Lisfranc injury on Friday, Oct. 24 during a practice drill. She’s expected to miss the whole season, something that may be costly for a young Missouri team that has been dependent of Doty’s skills as a starting point guard for a majority of her career.

“It still hasn’t hit me that I’m hurt yet,” Doty said. “I still think I’m fine.”

During Wednesday’s matchup, sophomore Lindsey Cunningham, as well as newcomers junior Juanita Robinson and freshman Carrie Shephard, filled Doty’s position.

Although the Tigers were expected to take the Lions down without difficulty, they struggled, finishing with a 67-61 win. This is something that could be attributed to the loss of Doty.

Missouri coach Robin Pingeton begs to differ.

Although she believes the injury has been “a great loss for us,” Pingeton said she was pleased with how the three backups handled their time on the court.

“(Doty’s) a great player,” Pingeton said in the post-game press conference, “so it’s absolutely an adjustment, but it’s no excuse for how we played tonight.”

With hopes to get a redshirt and with the final injury prognosis in the air, Pingeton looks to use Doty in a different manner – as a vocal leader.

“She’s still going to bring great value to our team,” she said. “As hard as this is, I’m really proud of her maturity and the way she’s handled this. I think she’s embraced the opportunity to help her teammates get better, pointing different things out in practice.”

Against Lindenwood, Doty directed her teammates as well as she could, even standing up from the bench from time to time to offer motivation.

She hopes to see her team “compete to their full potential” and not give anything away and said she will do what she can to help them succeed.

“I think (the backcourt) is going to do amazing,” she said. “I have so much confidence in them, seeing the way players have stepped up in the past week.”