No. 23 is back.
No, not Michael Jordan again, but rather, Lindsey Dion.
On Wednesday, the Oregon senior guard played in her first game since the end of the Pacific-10 Conference season last year. Dion has been hampered by several injuries in the past 12 months, most recently with torn cartilage in her right knee. She played 10 minutes in Oregon’s final exhibition game, a 76-43 stomping of National Women’s Basketball League Elite at McArthur Court.
“It was nice to get up and down the court and have the chance to play again,” Dion said. “My knee feels perfectly fine, but I’m sure it will be a little sore tonight.”
Oregon shot 51 percent from the floor and better than 45 percent from behind the arc — but senior forward Angelina Wolvert expects more.
“I’m a little disappointed,” said Wolvert, who tallied 11 points and eight rebounds. “The team we played didn’t offer us problems; we offered ourselves the problems.”
At times, the Ducks were slowed by the inexperience of their guards, who are still trying to find their places in the team’s system.
“We need to expect more from them,” Wolvert said of the guards. “In order for us to be successful, we need some direction from them.”
A major blow for the Ducks — already short at guard because of the loss of Pac-10 Player of the Year Shaquala Williams — is the injury to junior guard Jamie Craighead, who “tweaked” her knee in the first half of the exhibition game, head coach Jody Runge said.
If Craighead’s injury is serious, sophomores Kourtney Shreve and Alissa Edwards will see greater playing time than was originally expected. Edwards scored 10 points and dished out three assists in 26 minutes Wednesday, and Shreve scored seven points with three assists in 31 minutes of action as the starting point guard.
“They’re both doing good things, but they’re young, and it’s going to be tough for them to be out there at the same time,” Runge said. “They’re going to have to learn how to lead this team, and that’s going to take some time.”
In just 14 minutes, Alyssa Fredrick scored a team-high 13 points and grabbed six rebounds against NWBL Elite. Senior center Jenny Mowe, who was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, totaled 12 rebounds and six points.
With the preseason now finished, the Ducks will have their first major challenge of the year when they travel to a tournament in North Carolina this weekend. They will face several ranked opponents, including No. 18 Wisconsin.
“I hope this is not as ready as we can get,” Runge said. “We have to play with a greater intensity.”