Minnesota senior center, Janel McCarville, a national player of the year candidate and returning WBCA Kodak All-American, broke the third metacarpal bone of her left hand in practice on Thursday and will miss four weeks of action.

McCarville was earlier tabbed as the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year. She averaged 16.1 points and 10.8 rebounds a year ago in helping Minnesota to its first Final Four appearance.

The Golden Gophers open their season on Nov. 14 versus UNLV in the WBCA Classic in Seattle.