The Oregon women’s basketball team walked onto McArthur Court for media day on Wednesday dressed in lighting yellow and ready to compete with some highly skilled
programs across the nation.
The Ducks finished with a 14-15 overall record last season. They defeated No. 9 LSU early in the year and No. 10 Stanford at the end of 2003. Both victories came at Mac Court.
Oregon head coach Bev Smith emphasized that her team is a “dynamic group, a diverse group, and very determined this year.”
The lineup includes five seniors and three juniors. Three of the four returning starters for the Ducks are seniors.
“This year you can see that we have great depth,” Smith said. “Not only do we have
numbers at each and every position, but we’re a year older and we have some experience at each position … I think that’s going to allow us to weather a lot of the storms that teams go through each year.”
Redshirt senior forward Cathrine Kraayeveld has returned with the same mentality and
enthusiasm she has carried throughout her
extended career.
“I think our whole team is excited just to get back,” Kraayeveld said. “We only graduated one girl so we got a lot of experience back.”
Last year, the 6-foot-4 Kraayeveld was
sidelined after she tore the anterior cruciate
ligament in her right knee during practice. The Pacific-10 Conference granted her a medical hardship after she was limited to five games.
“I’m just excited to get this extra year back and play a full season,” Kraayeveld said, “I don’t really see anything different than I did coming into last year. All I can do is hope for the best.”
Springfield native Chelsea Wagner is back at full-strength and anticipating a successful
season for the Ducks. The junior shooting guard sat out injured for the first two games last year but finished second on the team in
three-point field goals made with 39.
“Things are feeling really good — (the team is) healthy,” Wagner said as she knocked on the hardwood court. “We’re feeling ahead of where we were last year at about this time.”
This summer, Oregon traveled to the South Pacific for the 2004 Tour “Down Under” in
Australia where it polished up against four regional teams. The Ducks finished 3-1 on the 12 -day trip.
“This year, I think one of our focuses for this team is that we are just trying to become a
consistent team,” Smith said. “We got a lot of things done … on and off the court in terms of chemistry and communication.”
Kraayeveld explained that every member of the team saw significant playing time during the tour and gained a lot of experience.
“It was just a good chance for us to play different teams from a different country,” she said.
The Ducks are eager to see if the time spent in Australia translates to an advantage over their opponents.
Oregon’s first challenger will be Western Oregon for an exhibition game on Nov. 5 at Mac Court.

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