Oregon forward Cathrine Kraaye-veld injured a knee during practice Tuesday at the Morse Event Center, home to Northwest Christian College.
The 6-foot-4 senior had an MRI after practice and results were not immediately available. Kraayeveld missed 13 games last season with a staph infection in the same knee.
“I was just cutting, I don’t even really remember what happened,” Kraayeveld said. “I just kind of cut and it kind of gave out.”
The All-America candidate is averaging 17.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game, while leading Oregon to a 5-0 record and the No. 20 ranking in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

Road trip
After playing four of its first five games at home, Oregon will spend most of December on the road. The Ducks play six of their next seven games away from McArthur Court, with a lone home appearance on the 12th against Montana. Oregon won its only road game to date, 73-57, over Gonzaga on Nov. 25.
The Ducks’ next contest is Thursday against Portland at the Chiles Center. Oregon defeated the Pilots 85-63 last season at McArthur Court behind 19 points from Brandi Davis.
“Going to Portland (to play the Pilots) will be a good test,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “It gets very intense because of the in-state rivalry. We’re being careful not to overlook them.”
Oregon will stay in the Rose City until Saturday when the Ducks battle Colorado State in the Papé Jam. Smith said the Ducks are familiar and comfortable with playing in the Rose Garden after defeating BYU 80-77 in last season’s Papé Jam.

East coast exposure
When Oregon faces George Washington on Dec. 18 in Washington, D.C., the Ducks will have a chance to show East Coast voters that their top 25 ranking is legit. It will be the only time during the regular season that Oregon ventures further east than Arizona.
“It’s a great opportunity to go back east, which is considered the mecca of college basketball,” Smith said. “It will also be a great educational experience, getting to visit the nation’s capital.”
Kraayeveld said Oregon also has a chance to show the East Coast that the Pacific-10 Conference belongs with the nation’s elite.
“It’s not just important for Oregon, but for the Pac-10 also,” Kraayeveld said. “Just showing that we have a really good conference over here and hopefully that will establish that on the East Coast. They have a lot of good teams down there so it will be fun for us to go down there.”

Valuable return
Senior Kayla Steen returned from a knee injury Saturday to score 11 points against North Carolina State. The 5-foot-8 guard was 3 of 4 points from the field in 14 minutes.
Smith said the return of Steen was a big boost to the Ducks. After sophomore guard Chelsea Wagner and freshman forward Jessica Shetters recently returned from injuries, Oregon now has tremendous depth at every position.
“The way Kayla came in and performed was tremendous,” Smith said.
Players returning from injury “round us out very well,” she added.

Pac-10 rankings
Along with Oregon, two other Pac-10 teams were ranked in this week’s top-25. Stanford (5-0) was ranked No. 6 and Arizona (3-2) was No. 25. Washington (4-0) and California (3-2) received votes.