Missouri women’s basketball junior Bri Porter has torn her left ACL and will miss the entire 2016-17 season, head coach Robin Pingeton said at a press conference Tuesday.

Porter’s injury is a major blow to the team. Earlier in the month, senior Jordan Frericks suffered an ACL tear and is out for the season as well.

Porter was working on half-court offense and tore her ACL when she made a pivot, according to Pingeton. This is Porter’s fifth ACL tear, including three on her left knee and two on her right.

“She’s going to continue playing a huge role in our team,” Pingeton said. “Everybody respects her and loves her, and we’ll still lean on her quite a bit for her leadership.”

Mizzou women’s basketball was projected to finish eighth in the preseason Southeastern Conference media poll. Pingeton thought it would be higher, but injuries from Frericks and now Porter justify a drop in the team’s ranking.

With two top players out due to injury, sophomore Sophie Cunningham, the top-performing Tiger last season, will face more pressure to step up and fill the gap.

“I don’t look at it as pressure as much as an opportunity,” Pingeton said. “For all of us that knows Sophie, she thrives in that kind of environment. We certainly need her to step up, but we need all of our team, too.”

Indeed, Cunningham exhibited confidence.

“We’re still going to get done what we want to get done this year,” Cunningham said. “Huge blow, but we got a lot of freshman coming in, and Hannah Schuchts will be huge for us.”

_Edited by Peter Baugh | pbaugh@themaneater.com_