The Oregon women’s basketball team achieved most, if not all, of the realistic goals it set at the beginning of the season.
The Ducks finished the regular season tied for second place in the Pacific-10 Conference.
Several players were recognized for individual accomplishments.
And they made an appearance in the women’s NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999.
The squad also saw a few of its most relied-upon, beloved players finish their collegiate careers.
After starting the season at 7-0, Oregon suffered its only loss at McArthur Court to then-ranked No. 10 Ohio State. Bev Smith’s veteran team went on to a 9-2 start and opened the Pac-10 season with a pair of wins at home against California and former No. 5 Stanford, who reached the Elite Eight and earned a
No. 1 ranking in the nation to end the season.
The Ducks finished with a 12-6 Pac-10 record and went undefeated at home against conference opponents.
Oregon’s win over Stanford earned it the No. 2 seed in the Pac-10 Tournament in San Jose, Calif., where the Ducks defeated Washington in the first game before losing to Arizona State in the semifinals.
Nevertheless, tough play, a strong regular-season finish and noticeable resilience caught enough of the NCAA selection committee’s attention for it to award Oregon with a No. 10 seed in the Seattle Regional of the Big Dance.
It was a lower seed than the Ducks expected, and they showed the committee that they may have deserved a higher seed with a
minor upset of seventh-seeded Texas Christian in the first round.
However, Oregon hit a brick wall in the second round when it faced No. 2-seeded Baylor. The Lady Bears defeated the Ducks by a 23-point margin and have since reached the Final Four. Though they were without a win in their final game, the Ducks expressed an overall sense of accomplishment in their play.
“I think we had an awesome season,” said point guard Corrie Mizusawa, whose team finished 21-10 overall. “Everyone marked us as not going to the NCAA Tournament and not finishing high in the conference, but we accomplished those goals. It was a phenomenal job of fighting through adversity.
“I’m disappointed that we lost, but we had a championship season. We played hard and worked hard,” she said.
Of course, what’s a true season without the unfortunate inclusion of injuries as a result of hard work?
Junior guard Chelsea Wagner tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee against Washington on Jan. 13 at Mac Court.
“Losing Chelsea this year was tough for us because she was a really tough player for us both offensively and defensively,” Smith said. “To lose her and to battle back into the postseason says a lot about this team.”
Eventually, junior Brandi Davis filled the shooting guard position and provided big offensive numbers in a string of crucial games down the stretch.
Seniors Cathrine Kraayeveld and Mizusawa also dealt with minor injuries and illnesses. Eerily enough, everything happened against the Huskies. In the same game that the Ducks lost Wagner for the season, Mizusawa sat out with flu-like symptoms.
In the next meeting between the Ducks and Huskies, Kraayeveld developed a virally infected left elbow, limiting her shooting ability. Those were the only games in which either player missed a start this season. Senior center Andrea Bills was the only player to start in all 31 games.
Bills, recognized as a workhorse by players, coaches and fans, made 104 consecutive starts and played in every game of her collegiate career, totaling 123, which is only one behind Oregon record-holder Jenny Mowe. Bills finished seventh all-time in rebounds and 12th in points scored.
Meanwhile, Kraayeveld, a five-year member of the Oregon squad, retired as sixth all-time in blocked shots, eighth in rebounds and three-pointers made and 14th in points scored. She also finished tied for fifth in Oregon history for double-doubles recorded with 28.
Mizusawa, who transferred from St. Mary’s after her sophomore season, completed her career with more assists (622) than points (612). She is the first NCAA player to accomplish that feat since Cincinnati’s Michelle Koenig in 1990. Mizusawa was third in the nation in assists per game this season. She finished fifth all-time in Oregon history for career assists.
Several players were recognized for their contributions to the
Ducks’ season.
Kraayeveld and Bills were each named to the All-Pac-10 team after earning honorable mentions in previous seasons and Player of the Week honors earlier this season. Freshman forward Kristen Forristall, the Oregon women’s first McDonald’s High School All-American recruit, was named to the All-Freshman team.
The departing seniors believe they have prepared themselves and the team for success in the future.
“Hopefully we helped set them up for the next couple of years that they play,” Bills said. “Towards the end it’s kind of disappointing, but we know we have a future ahead of us playing basketball still.”
