gophers/ncaa

Hamline University basketball player Eugene Lawrence was arrested after he allegedly sent a Portland woman visiting Spokane, Wash., to the hospital on New Year's Eve with a broken eye socket and broken jaw.

Kayla Bray, 20, was visiting with another Hamline player when she got into an argument with Lawrence after Hamline's game with Whitworth University. Lawrence made his first court appearance Wednesday and is charged with felony second degree assault.

Hamline officials say Lawrence has been placed on interim suspension from the basketball team and the school, according to KSTP-TV.

According to a story posted on a Spokane television website, Bray was visiting a high school friend, Tyler Pannell, when the alleged assault took place.

KXLY.com reported: "Bray's dad, Steve, said she gave Pannell a ride to a hotel and at some point she got into an argument with another player Hamline player, Eugene Lawrence.That's when police say Lawrence punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground.

"When she came to Bray said his daughter asked for the players to call 911, but they refused - because it would break their curfew. Bray called for help herself."

Lawrence had averaged about 13 minutes of playing time in Hamline's first nine games of the season.

Hamline defeated Macalester 80-53 in an MIAC game on Wednesday night in St. Paul.