Another injured player, a few more steps back for the Oregon women’s basketball team.
Guard/forward Lindsey Dion tore the lateral maniscus cartilage in her right knee while performing a running drill at Autzen Stadium last Thursday. Surgery was scheduled for early today and rehabilitation will take about six weeks, team officials said.
Although the senior should be ready to play at the start of the Pacific-10 Conference season, the Ducks had a hard time keeping her healthy. Dion missed several games with concussions and knee injuries. Oregon has close to a .500 record when Dion is not in the lineup.
Dion, labeled by head coach Jody Runge as the team’s emotional leader, earned All-Pac-10 honors last season after averaging 7.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
The temporary loss of Dion compounds the gap left open by the injured Shaquala Williams, who tore her anterior cruciate ligament in September during a pickup game and will miss the entire season. Williams will be rehabilitating between five and eight months.
Preseason Pac-10 Rankings
Despite the loss of Williams, the recently-released Pac-10 Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll picks Oregon to finish second in the conference.
The Ducks would have likely been the first choice with Williams in the lineup, as they would have returned four of five starters from last season’s Pac-10 title squad.
However, the loss of Williams leaves the starting point guard duties to sophomore Kourtney Shreve, who has never started. Shreve’s backup is junior Jamie Craighead, who started at forward last season when Dion was injured.Pac-10 coaches picked Stanford to win the Pac-10 title. The Cardinal collected nine first-place votes to Oregon’s one.
Stanford returns four starters from last season, when its 13-5 Pac-10 record tied itself with Arizona for second place in the conference and advanced to the second round of the NCAA West Regional — its 13th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Southern California was ranked third, followed closely by Arizona in fourth and Arizona State fifth. Washington and UCLA were tied-for-sixth. Oregon State is picked eighth, followed by No. 9 California and, as usual, Washington State is in the cellar.
