The Science of Hard Knocks

By ERIK VANCE

Concussions are on the rise in college sports, and striking numbers of female athletes are at risk

Most photos of Jamie Carey show a small woman with a strong build charging headlong into a crowd of jostling knees and elbows, or shoving her way toward a loose ball. An athletics trainer at the University of Texas, where Ms. Carey played basketball for two years, once told the Austin American-Statesman that "Jamie's not coming off the court unless a body part is severed. And only then if