If Caroline is bothered by lights and crowds then she needs to retire from basketball. Watching the games where she takes a little contact to the head and immediately leaves the game tells me she is in a dangerous place as it pertains to concussions. Caroline isn't going to make a career out of playing basketball so I would recommend she start the next chapter of her life to ensure she has the quality of life every young athlete deserves after they are done playing.
I think it is fair to say Caroline's basketball career is in jeopardy, but too early to conclude that it is over. I agree with you that if if a little contact continues to cause problems farther down the road, it probably is over, but I suspect her issues could clear up over time as well.
Last year because of the hip surgery and concussion issues she was never in top condition and it showed. She wasn't able to stay in shape over the summer because of the hip surgery, and when concussion came as well, complete rest and doing nothing was the recommended treatment, so even if the head cleared up, she still wasn't in game shape.
This year with presumably an effective off-season routine she came back looking fit and fine and based on some comments from Geno was looking pretty good. Then a bang on the head on the trip, back to day by day and similar concussion issues. I don't know what the future will bring but think the team will be very conservative regarding her potential return, meaning if she is having any issues at all, sounds, lights, headaches etc. she probably won't return.
Being a possible factor this season isn't ruled out yet IMO, but given the time out, I think she would need a couple of weeks after being cleared to be ready to contribute, so at best much of the season would be missed and the redshirt possibility might soon become more likely, but who knows.