By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Iowa’s women’s basketball team will have to go the rest of the season without its leading 3-point shooter.

Senior guard Taylor McCabe, who was injured on the first possession of Sunday’s 91-70 win over Ohio State, suffered a torn ACL in her left knee, the university announced on Monday.

“This isn’t how I imagined my senior season ending, but adversity has always been part of the game,” McCabe said in a statement. “I’m committed to my recovery and to supporting my teammates in every way I can the rest of this season. I’m grateful for the love and encouragement from my coaches, teammates, and everyone who has been with me throughout this journey at the University of Iowa.”

McCabe has started every game, averaging 8.1 points.

McCabe, who led the Hawkeyes with 49 3-pointers this season, will end her career ranks 11th in program history with 172 made 3-pointers. Her 3-point field goal percentage ties Kristi Smith (.407) for the best in school history.

“This is incredibly difficult news for Taylor, her family, and our program,” Iowa coach Jan Jensen said. “Taylor gave everything she had to this team, and her impact goes far beyond what has shown up on the court. We are thankful, she chose to be a Hawkeye a few years ago and she will always be a part of our Hawkeye family.”

McCabe was injured trying to defend Ohio State’s Ava Watson, who scored 23 seconds into Sunday’s game. McCabe was carried from the court by two staff members, and later came out to the bench to watch the rest of the first half.

Jensen called McCabe “an extremely great leader,” after the game.

“She’s one of our best defenders,” Jensen said. “Everybody gives her a lot of credit, because she’s a great shooter. The reason she continued to be such an instrumental part of us is because Taylor took a challenge when she was a sophomore. I’m a post coach, but I met with her and I said, ‘Listen, you can be a defender. I’ve seen your footwork. You use this summer to get as fit as you can and as strong as you can, and become a defender. I said, ‘You’re going to impact this team.’ And boy, did she do it. And she was a great leader.”

McCabe’s starting spot likely will be taken by either freshman Addie Deal, who scored 20 points in Sunday’s game after she came into the game following McCabe’s injury, or sophomore Taylor Stremlow.

McCabe is set to graduate this May with a civil engineering degree. She will pursue a graduate assistant position in women’s basketball to help her attain a postgraduate degree.

Photo: Iowa guard Taylor McCabe will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. (Photo from Iowa Athletic Communications)