Isuneh Brady waited almost three years to hit the court with the UConn women's basketball team after announcing her commitment to the Huskies as a sophomore at Cathedral Catholic High in San Diego.

Now the 6-foot-3 forward will wait again to make her debut.

The school announced Wednesday that Brady will miss the 2022-23 season after suffering a dislocated patella in her right knee. The injury occurred during practice on Friday and she underwent what the school said was successful surgery on Tuesday at UConn Health in Farmington to repair damage suffered during the dislocation.

"Anytime any player has an injury, it's so heartbreaking because they put so much time and effort into being the best player they can be," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said in a statement. "When that's taken away, regardless of how long they're out, to not be able to play is unfortunate. Ice has made so much progress since she's been here and I'm really confident that when she does come back, she's going to be better and more impactful than she already has been."

It's the second season-ending injury for the 2022-23 Huskies following an injury-plagued year a season ago. Junior guard Paige Bueckers tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during a summer pick-up game.

Brady, who began dreaming of playing basketball at UConn at age 10, made an unofficial visit here the first weekend of November 2019 to watch the Huskies take on Division II Jefferson University at Gampel Pavilion. Six weeks later, she became the earliest recruit to commit to UConn in Auriemma's tenure.

She finished her high school career averaging a double-double (18.5 points, 12.4 rebounds). She was ranked the No. 5 recruit in the Class of 2022 and was named a McDonald's All-American.

"Ice's biggest skill is she is left-handed," UConn assistant coach Jamelle Elliott said in September. "She is very smooth. She is fluid. She shoots the ball extremely well from the outside, and she has a physique that I think can really do a good job of carving out some space in the lane and creating some easy buckets for herself around the basket. She is just as comfortable working at the high post."

This summer Brady helped the United States U-18 national team win the gold medal and qualify for the 2023 FIBA U-19 World Cub at the FIBA U-18 Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In six games for Team USA (6-0), she averaged 13.0 points on 64.8% shooting from the floor, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals.

In the 82-77 victory over Canada in the gold-medal game, she had eight points and tied Nneka Ogwumike's USA single-game record with 15 rebounds.

"The experience was awesome," Brady said.

Her size and her willingness to play inside and rebound would have given Brady an opportunity to contribute immediately. The Huskies lost center Olivia Nelson-Ododa to graduation.

Brady begins rehab Wednesday and will be regularly monitored by the UConn medical staff throughout her recovery.

UConn opens the regular season Nov. 10 against Northeastern.