For freshman Carolyn Ganes, Saturday’s Civil War game is the start of a new beginning. But for senior Kourtney Shreve, the rivalry will be the beginning of an end.
With Ganes playing in her first Civil War at McArthur Court and Shreve competing in her 100th game for Oregon in her senior season, there is mixed emotion on the team heading into the 70th meeting of the two squads.
“We are going to have huge energy going into this game,” Ganes said. “We lost to them already once, so we kind of feel that we owe them one and prove to them that we can beat them.”
It is quite the experience for the seniors, as the Civil War matchups have become the epitome of college basketball, and Shreve said knowing it’s your last one is not easy to realize.
“It’s going to be real emotional,” Shreve said. “They got us the first game and being at home is going to be exciting for both teams.”
Head coach Bev Smith relates to her players on the experience, as she took the time to reflect back on her rivalry-playing days when she suited up at Oregon from 1978-82.
“It was always going to be a hard-fought game,” Smith said. “They were all really hard-fought, and the outcome was never determined until the last minute. You just put your helmet on and went out and played and hoped you were on top after 40 minutes.”
And despite the Ducks’ early-season loss in Corvallis, the rivalry has yielded many last-minute thrillers that came down to the final seconds. Oregon has won 13 of the past 15 in the series.
With Shreve and fellow senior Alissa Edwards playing in their final War, it has been both a time of reflection on the memories of past years and a time of excitement and looking forward.
Both spoke of each Civil War having its own significance, yet neither could forget last year’s buzzer-beater by senior Edniesha Curry in Corvallis as one of the best memories.
“That’s the one that stands out, but for me they all mean a lot and I have memories from each game,” Shreve said.

Defending The Pit
Coming off a last-second thriller in California against the Bears, the Ducks return to the confines of McArthur Court to start a three-game homestand.
It will be Oregon’s final three regular-season games at McArthur Court and, for some, the last times they will compete in the Pit.
“It’s going to be really emotional, because these will be the last three games here that I will ever play, but it’s really crucial that we play hard and get the job done,” Shreve said.
The Oregon players also recognize the importance of these games at home, and hope to have a strong finish heading into the Pac-10 Tournament.
“Our destiny is in our hands, in a sense that we could really do ourselves a favor by being successful at home,” Smith said. “Our focus has always been one game at a time, one possession at a time, and one half at a time.”
The Ducks have been much more successful at home with an overall record of 5-4 as opposed to their road record of 3-7.
If things play themselves out in their favor, Oregon could move up to sixth place in the Pac-10 standings, and three home wins would bring the Ducks to .500 in conference play.

Setting

a milestone
Ganes currently ranks third in the Pac-10 standings with a free-throw percentage of .894. She follows Nicole Powell and Kelley Suminski of Stanford, but only by a close margin, with the leader at .911.
If Ganes can work her way to the top she would be the first-ever Oregon freshman to win the free-throw percentage title.