Wednesday morning after practice, the five seniors from the Oregon women’s basketball team held court before a Register-Guard photographer, grinning sheepishly at each other as he snapped away.
He asked them to pose with their hands on their hips. Everyone obliges. Except Cicely Oaks, who stands in front of Australian-born forward Eleanor Haring, head cocked, arms hanging loosely by her side.
“I don’t do that,” Oaks says, half joking but half serious, and always the rebel.
For the five seniors, the Register-Guard photo shoot is a reminder that this Saturday is Senior Day, and that very soon, their time together will be up.
The Ducks (14-10 overall, 6-8 Pacific-10 Conference) take on No. 22 California (19-6, 9-5) tonight before facing No. 9 Stanford (21-4, 13-1) on Saturday afternoon in their last home game of the season.
“We’re all just really excited, but at the same time, it’s kind of sad because we’ve been with each other for four years,” 6-foot-6-inch center Jessie Shetters says, towering over the rest of the seniors gathered around her.
“We’ve all got a lot of mixed emotions, you know?”
Shetters, Haring, Oaks and Carolyn Ganes have played together since 2003. Jamie Hawkins, the fifth member of the class of 2007, only transferred to Oregon from Boise State in 2005, but she’s fit in so well with the rest that Shetters says she “might as well have been here for four years.”
Together, Oregon’s seniors have formed the nucleus of the Ducks’ small team this year.
On the floor with her trademark fadeaway jumper, Haring has been a paradigm of consistency for the Ducks this season. Haring has started all 24 games and has scored in double digits in 18 of them.
“El came in as a shy, unassuming young woman,” Oregon coach Bev Smith said. “(Now) she’s still unassuming, and I think she’s still shy. She’s had to step out of her comfort zone, but with her ability and talent, she’s become our go-to player.”
When Shetters injured her back halfway through the season, Ganes and Hawkins filled in for her. Ganes came up with several big games and is averaging 11.4 points per game in Pac-10 play. Hawkins took over rebounding responsibilities, and her 97 total rebounds are third on the team behind Haring and Shetters.
With her fast-talking, smart-mouth ways, Oaks not only provides the Ducks with an outside threat (her .453 three point shooting percentage is second on the team), she is also the heart of the team, and Smith acknowledges that her role off the floor has been “simply wonderful.”
“This is an important class of seniors; a special class of athletes that I was able to personally recruit,” Smith said. “They’ve done a lot for this program, and have really grown as people.”
All the seniors have invited family to watch them play on Saturday. Hawkins has a small army of extended family coming, while Oaks and Ganes will have mom and dad with them. Haring the Aussie has her own six-person group that includes her roommate junior guard Kaela Chapdelaine’s parents.
“They’re pretty much (like) my parents,” said Haring, who has spent Christmas and other holidays with the Chapdelaines over the last few years.
With a 14-10 record, the Ducks stand a good chance of seeing some post-season play in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.
But it’s not a sure bet yet, and the seniors are leaving nothing up to chance.
“Even though we’re hoping for the post-season, it might be our last game. So we’re gonna play like it could be,” said Shetters, who is expected to finally return from her back injury against Stanford on Saturday.
“We’re gonna go out with a bang,” Haring says.
In response, Oaks cheekily quips, “I don’t want a gun, though.”
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