Every day, Marie Berthuel would play basketball at the Student Recreation Center —usually with the guys.
She has always been interested in basketball, whether in her hometown of Nice, France or new home of Eugene, Oregon, but now she officially has a spot on the Oregon women’s basketball team.
Berthuel, a graduate student studying Chemistry at the University of Oregon, joined the team as a walk-on this week after a few of the players noticed her skills on display at the REC.
Berthuel, a 5-foot-3 guard, originally found herself at Oregon as a senior exchange student for the 2013-14 academic year and has stayed to complete the graduate program. Her hometown of Nice, which is located on the south east coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea, is the fifth-most populous city in all of France. She attended Lycée Guillaume Apollinaire and played on a club that prepares basketball players to make the jump to the professional ranks, though she never did. 
Head coach Kelly Graves said that former women’s basketball coach Bev Smith—who teaches a basketball class at the REC—first mentioned to Graves that she had the right skill-set to join the team.
“She (Smith) said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a kid that’s pretty good and she would like to play,’” Graves said. “So, we talked to her last spring and said, ‘Yeah, come on out, we’d like to have you,’ and it’s been working out. She has a really high basketball IQ and works hard, and obviously understands the game. She has some limitations due to her size, but she’s shifty, crafty and does a good job.”
Berthuel will wear a No. 3 jersey this season for the Ducks, though she acknowledges she has traditionally worn No. 6 when she takes the court.
“It’s just awesome,” Berthuel said. “I really like this team and I feel lucky to be here.”
She acknowledged that it could be tricky to manage her graduate-level studies with women’s basketball obligations, but she’s up for the challenge.
“I was interested in basketball (at Oregon),” Berthuel said. “When I came, I didn’t know about all this stuff—like NCAA rules—so I couldn’t even try out when I came here, but I just worked hard and tried to go to the open gyms.”
The 22-year-old is fluent in both French and English and has a brother, Lilian and two sisters—Adeline and Eloise.
Now, instead of the REC Center, Berthuel will be playing at Matthew Knight Arena.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne