Jillian Alleyne said this year’s Oregon women’s basketball has already set a clear goal: a NCAA Tournmanet appearance.
She says it’s a realistic goal for a team that has made progress under second-year head coach Kelly Graves. The Ducks will open their upcoming season on the road at North Carolina before returning home to Eugene for 10 nonconference games at home.
“I’d say, hands down, it’s something we can reach,” said Alleyne, who is 18 rebounds shy of matching Bev Smith’s career UO record. She’s also led the Ducks in rebounding for 59 straight games dating back to her sophomore year.
The Ducks finished 13-17 season last year and tied for ninth in the Pac-12. They were eliminated by Washington State in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament.
“If anybody came in and watched us practice, they wouldn’t recognize the effort, the intensity, the camaraderie,” Graves. “A lot of kids are having a lot of fun. It’s night and day.”
Oregon returns three starters — Lexi Bando, Lexi Petersen and Alleyne — from last season. Jordan Loera (guard) and Katie Gruys (forward) also return for the Ducks. After that, nobody else has yet played a game at Oregon.
“We’re all eager to learn,” Loera said. “We felt like we were so close last year and with the group we have, we can definitely stretch that further.”
The Ducks figure to have one of the best front-courts in the country anchored by Alleyne and 6-5 center Jacinta Vandenberg, who had to sit out last season after transferring from Fresno State. Vandenberg has impressed coaches with her basketball IQ and grit. A junior this season, the Australian native went against Alleyne in practice last season. Freshmen Oti Gildon and Lauren Yearwood, along with UO multi-sport standout Liz Brenner, will help provide depth down low.
At the guard spot, 5-foot-10 freshman Maite Cazorla will see more playing time after junior college transfer Megan Trinder tore her ACL over the summer and will miss the season. Pacific Northwest-natives Mar’Shay Moore and Kat Cooper will boost the guard spot as transfers.
“We have a better baseline and a better understanding,” Graves said. “We don’t have any players that maybe didn’t buy in to what we were doing. There was a little addition by subtraction.”
Graves and his team were picked to finish No. 8 in the Pac-12 in the preseason coaches poll last month. Just up the road in Corvallis, the Beavers were picked No. 1. The media agreed, picking the Ducks eighth as well on Nov. 4. Alleyne was named to the Pac-12’s media all-conference preseason team.
Oregon’s NCAA Tournament goal would end a decade-long drought, dating back to 2005. That year, the Ducks lost to Baylor in the second round.
“We don’t have a very big margin for error,” Graves said. “But, I think if we stay healthy, we have a chance to make some noise certainly, included with that is postseason.”
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