Major setback?

They still had time to purchase a couple of get-well gifts for injured teammate Deidre Richardson Tuesday night.

So Danni Jackson and Shayla Drakeford hurried through the gymnasium door following an afternoon practice with a shopping spree in mind.

That was the very least they could do for Richardson, who was at home recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery — a procedure that ended her varsity career just as the Forest Park Bruins are preparing to play Mills Godwin in the quarterfinals of the Group AAA state girls basketball tournament.

“Deidre’s an amazing player,” Drakeford said. “I wish she was still here.”

The Bruins (23-4) returned to the court on Tuesday for the first time after winning the Northwest Region Tournament — a 60-24 victory over G.W. Danville — without one of their best shooters and most experienced players. It wasn’t the scenario anyone was hoping for after word of Richardson’s surgery arrived earlier in the day.

“Personally, I wanted to cry but I was in school,” Jackson said. “It really hit us deep. She’s a huge part of this team and just brings so much.”

Richardson, who has already accepted a scholarship offer to play at George Mason University next season, averaged 11.2 points per game and was named to the All-Northwest Region second team.

“We’ll have to face adversity and adjust,” Forest Park coach Rebecca Tillett said. “We’re going to need every other person to pick up in all the areas that Deidre gave us.

“The good thing about Deidre is she is a positive person and a positive leader. She’s got a great eye for the game so we’re trying to look at it as if we just gained another assistant coach.”

Richardson was a sophomore when the Bruins captured the Group AAA state title in 2006 and she helped them reach the quarterfinals last winter.

This season, she led the team in scoring eight times and was second behind Jackson with 30 3-pointers.

Drakeford, a star defender and the Bruins’ top reserve, will start in Richardson’s place against Mills Godwin on Saturday.

“Shayla’s been prepared for this situation,” Tillett said. “One of the intangibles we have as a team is we have players who have been here before so that puts us in an experienced position.”

Four of the team’s current starters — Jackson, Amber Epps, Gerda Gatling and Drakeford — played on the 2006 state championship team and that experience will be valuable against the Central Region runner-up Eagles, who bring a 25-4 record with them to the 7 p.m. quarterfinal at Freedom High School.

Godwin, which had an 18-game winning streak snapped by L.C. Bird in the region finals, is led by 5-foot-11 guard Michelle Foley, who averages 13.2 points per game and is the team’s tallest player. The Eagles also feature guard Maggie Roy (12.8) and Longwood University signee Brooke Long (12.0).

“We’re going to have to practice hard like we have been doing and focus more knowing Deidre won’t be on the court with us,” Jackson said. “Everybody will have to contribute some way to get the team going because Deidre gets us going. She’s going to be missed.”