Kaela Chapdelaine is well-aware of the emotions accompanying senior day.
She is a fifth-year senior, having redshirted as a freshman to allow a stress fracture to heal, and watched last season as members of her recruiting class went through their final game inside McArthur Court.
Chapdelaine came back, and as the lone senior on a roster with six freshmen and three sophomores, she serves as a voice of experience.
On Saturday, Chapdelaine experiences her senior day with Oregon’s 4 p.m. meeting with Oregon State. Coupled with the in-state rivalry and the approaching Pacific-10 Conference Tournament, Chapdelaine says she’s focusing on winning the game.
Her teammates, though, remain cognizant of Chapdelaine’s impact.
“It’s going to be really sad,” guard Micaela Cocks said. “She’s a good friend. She means … so much to this program.”
Chapdelaine is bringing her parents, a close high school friend, men’s basketball player Ray Schafer and even some familiar faces to women’s basketball fans. Former Oregon center Jessie Shetters and guard Cicely Oaks are expected to make the drive down from Portland.
Oregon is 12-16 overall and 6-11 in the Pac-10, good for seventh place in the conference.
Chapdelaine experienced a shooting performance a basketball player dreams of in Oregon’s 66-55 trouncing of UCLA last Saturday.
The team-oriented Chapdelaine, who consistently deflects attention away from herself, placed the spotlight squarely on her game with a 7-for-9 shooting performance.
Oregon’s senior guard was a perfect 6-for-6 from three-point range and to round out her 25-point performance, Chapdelaine collected six rebounds and dished out six assists.
“I think our team did a good job of finding her and knowing she was hot and getting the ball to her when we needed to,” coach Bev Smith said.
The Canadian’s hot hand combined with games by Oregon’s freshmen posts Ellie Manou (12 points, eight rebounds) and Nicole Canepa (seven points, 10 rebounds) that left Smith optimistic about the team’s growth and direction.
“They’re playing hard and they’re playing together,” Smith said. “They’re really playing some smart basketball right now. I think they sense that and have a really nice sense of satisfaction.”
Oregon players met following the Ducks’ 67-58 loss to USC, and Chapdelaine gave it a personal spin, telling the underclassmen, “You have to make the most of the time you have left.”
The meeting emphasized getting back to enjoying basketball again in a difficult season featuring a seven-game losing streak and growing pains.
“I think its been a while in a game that we’ve actually had that opportunity to just really have fun,” Chapdelaine said.
Chapdelaine says it’s often quoted McArthur Court is the best place to play, and she says it’s true. The 5-foot-10 guard has international experience with the Canadian National Team.
“I’ve been around the world and played,” she said. “A lot of my international teammates have done the same and there just isn’t (a better place to play). The fans’ loyalty and support for this program is incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it. That will stay with me forever.”
In her last home game, Chapdelaine and Oregon come up against an Oregon State squad that upset USC last week in Corvallis. The Beavers had lost the previous three games to UCLA and the Washington schools by a combined 12 points.
Former Oregon guard Ashley Allen is Oregon State’s main offensive threat, averaging 15.8 points a game.
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