Indiana Fever point guard Briann January to miss the remainder of season due to torn ACL

From the Indiana Fever:

Indiana Fever point guard Briann January will miss the remainder of the 2011 WNBA season due to a right knee injury sustained early in the fourth quarter of the Fever’s 91-86 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday. An MRI evaluation on Wednesday revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Surgery to repair the injury will be performed in 4 to 6 weeks by Dr. Stephen Kollias, team orthopedist with St. Vincent Sports Performance. A full recovery is anticipated in advance of the 2012 season.

A third-year pro out of Arizona State, January had assumed the Fever’s starting point guard duties for the first time this season, while leading Indiana into first place in the WNBA’s Eastern Conference. She was averaging 8.6 points, 5.0 assists and 1.4 rebounds per game at the time of her injury, and ranked seventh in the league in assists.

Surrounded by a starting lineup of playoff-laden veterans, January had engineered the club to an East-leading 7-3 record. The Phoenix win Tuesday was the Fever’s fourth-in-a-row.

“It is such a tough blow for Bri because she’s worked so hard to get where she is today,” said Fever head coach Lin Dunn. “It’s unfortunate and we’ll miss her leadership, but we know she’ll come back even better and even stronger. Now is the opportunity for someone else to step up, though. We have talked a lot about the depth of this team and so now is the time for someone like Erin Phillips or Shannon Bobbitt to fill that void. We may have a point guard-by-committee for awhile as we adjust to her loss.”