The Williston State College athletic program is reeling from a freak accident last month that led to a leg amputation for a women's basketball player.

20-year-old Leniska McDonald hurt her knee in a scrimmage on Oct. 18, and complications over the next month resulted in her leg being amputated.

"It's been three weeks now, and the injury just kept getting worse and worse," said athletic director Hunter Berg. "It's something we've never seen before."

The school is raising money for McDonald, who is at a hospital in Minnesota recovering.

McDonald hurt her knee in a collision with another player and was taken to the local hospital. When it was discovered she had artery damage behind the knee, she was transferred to Minot. Surgeries attempting to restore circulation to the bottom of the leg found a clot and a life-threatening infection, and things deteroriated from there. "In my 31 years of being a coach at women's basketball, I've seen a lot of injuries, some serious ankle injuries and knee injuries, but you never expect anything like this," said women's coach Tom Suelzle. "You see basketball and all athletic activities as something that is very fun and entertaining, but anytime you have an injury of this type, involving the loss of a limb, it's been hard to deal with."

"It's been kind of a reality-check for everybody at our college," Berg said. "We put so much emphasis in athletics into the actual competition and the games, and when something like this happens, it brings us back to the reality that athletics is a very minor part of our lives. The seriousness of this injury is something we never expected and may never see again."

McDonald is a native of the Bahamas. She was recruited to the college after a men's coach saw her play on a recruiting trip.

"She was so excited, her and her mother both were very exceited to have the opportunity to come over here and play basketball," Suelzle said. "It was a dream she had and she was living that dream."

McDonald's injury will have her rehabbing in Minnesota for some time, and from there her future is unclear.

"Lenishka's got a long, long road ahead of her and we hope that we can be there for her," Suelzle said. "She's been very strong."

McDonald had been assimilating well into the college and she made an impression in the time she was there. She'll be welcomed back if she wants to return when she's recovered, the school said.

"We feel very fortunate to have gotten to know her and we hope to get to know her again as she recovers from her injury," Suelzle said.

For now, doctors hope that the infection is receding and that no more surgeries will be needed.

"The day that it was amputed, they were very worried about her actually surviving. Her white blood cell count was four times what it should have been, she was having trouble breathing and she'd been on a respirator for two and a half weeks. They were worried about death at that point," Suelzle said. Now, McDonald is off the respirator and her condition looks to be improving.