See junior Lindsey Saffold back her defender down on offense, obtaining a precious position in the post. See her dive for the loose ball in practice, fighting with her teammates past the whistle.
See Saffold hustle.
Saffold checks in at a lean, mean 5-foot-10 and will play both forward spots for the Ducks this season.
A junior transfer from Delta Community College in Stockton, Calif., Saffold has seen an opportunity for playing on the team under unfortunate circumstances: Rita Kollo, Saffold’s roommate and the starting small forward heading into regular season play, is out for about six weeks with a broken right foot.
Saffold and freshman forward Jasmin Holliday are slated to replace Kollo during her recuperation.
It’s an unfortunate circumstance, but Saffold accepts her new mission without complaint.
After all, she’s playing for her dream school.
See Lindsey’s rise
Hailing from Tacoma, Wash., Eugene was a familiar place for Saffold as the prospect of college loomed.
“I was always coming here for camps in the summertime with my high school team,” Saffold said. “I liked the gym. I liked the community. I never thought I would be here.”
Saffold had played for three years at Lincoln High School in Tacoma before undergoing a falling-out with her coach. She uprooted herself and moved to Stockton to finish out her high school basketball career.
Saffold averaged 22 points and 15 rebounds a game for Weston Ranch High School her senior year and received several scholarship offers from Division I and Division II schools.
She opted instead to play at Delta Community College, where she quickly realized the distance between high school and college basketball.
“After the move, not that many schools stayed in contact with me. I was kind of screwed,” Saffold said. “I decided to work on my game and improve it (at a junior college).”
Her college prospects began to look up as her second year drew to a close.
Saffold averaged 17.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while leading the Mustangs to the Big 8 Conference Championship. Saffold received a call after one game to find Oregon assistant coach Willette White on the line.
“I couldn’t believe it. I was kind of nervous,” Saffold said of receiving White’s phone call. “I had to calm down.”
See Lindsey’s family
For Saffold, family support is critical, and she’ll never be too far from her extended family when playing Pacific-10 Conference games.
In moving to California to finish her high school career, Saffold lived with her grandparents and had an extensive support network of aunts, uncles and cousins close-by.
Tonight’s game against Pacific will mark the first time Saffold’s father, Amos Saffold, Jr., will see his daughter play in an Oregon uniform.
Saffold’s sisters Megan, 24, and Evan, 17, and brother Amos, 23, are also strong supporters of her basketball endeavors. Lindsey Saffold is particularly close with Amos, who plays basketball for Evergreen State College in Washington.
Saffold’s mother, Lynette Milton Saffold, died of colon cancer when Lindsey was 9 years old, but Lindsey keeps her in her mind and on her sneakers, writing her mom’s name on them before taking the court.
“I live for her,” Saffold said.
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