Most of the Oregon women’s basketball team spent the summer bonding.
A few of the players had summer activities that took them out of Eugene, but most of them stayed together and trained with each other.
“I think it helped that a lot of us were here over the summer to work on that team chemistry and do that team building and all that stuff,” point guard Corrie Mizusawa said. “That really helps with getting the freshmen in and helping them learn the program.”
Three freshmen — Ashley Allen, Cicely Oaks and Jessica Shetters — moved to Eugene at the beginning of the summer to take classes and train with their teammates.
“It was the best experience,” Allen said. “I recommend it to anyone — to everyone — to all the athletes. It gives you a chance to know your teammates, your coaches, the style of play. Also, you’re not so overwhelmed with the school work, you know what to expect. Once the year gets here, you know where you’re going and you know where your classes are.”
Not everyone was in training in Eugene over the summer, though. Five players had surgeries during the offseason.
Senior Kayla Steen had surgery on her knee after the 2002-03 season and went home to Hillsboro for the summer.
“I went (to Hillsboro) to get away and be able to recoup on my own,” Steen said. “I did a bunch of rehab, I was constantly in contact with the trainers here and constantly getting feedback via e-mail or telephone finding out what rehab I needed to.”
Steen, forward Yadili Okwumabua, guard Kedzie Gunderson, forward Carolyn Ganes and guard Kaela Chapdelaine all had some sort of surgery between March and October. Chapdelaine’s ankle surgery took place on Friday. She plans to use a medical redshirt this year.
Ganes also found time to represent her nation as a member of the Canadian women’s team in the Pan-American Games.
“I had a busy summer,” Ganes said. “It was a lot of fun, a good learning experience. I saw Luke Jackson there so there were some other Ducks around. It was a good learning experience … not only on the court but off the court, too. You get to learn about other cultures.”
Ganes is the first female Duck to play in the Pan-Am games since 1979 when Alison Lang and current Oregon women’s head coach Bev Smith played.

Madness
The women took the floor first in Saturday’s Midday Madness, putting on a show of drills and playing about 15 minutes of a scrimmage.
“I thought it was an awesome event,” Smith said. “I thought it was great to be in front of the crowd. I know our team was really excited to be able to get out in front of the crowd.”
The women started the day with a three-hour practice before taking the court in front of their fans.