One by one, history stepped off the floor at McArthur Court on Saturday.
First came Edniesha Curry. Then it was Jamie Craighead’s turn. Finally, as a sign of solidarity, Alyssa Fredrick and Ndidi Unaka made their way to the Oregon bench.
With just more than a minute left in the Ducks’ 76-43 win over California, the four Oregon seniors stood confidently at their bench knowing they had just ended their career at home in true fashion.
“It was just a good experience for all of us to be on the court one more time together,” Craighead said. “We’ll never get to play together again, so it was fun.”
Just as Craighead and Unaka did four years ago in their first game, and Fredrick a season later, the Ducks dominated in the win. Only Curry began her Oregon career with a loss, as the Ducks lost to Wisconsin-Green Bay to start this season.
“I wanted to go out with a win, and go out with a win for my mom (who was in attendance),” Fredrick said. “This is as sweet as it gets.”
Craighead and Unaka, the two seniors who spent all four seasons of their collegiate careers at Oregon, finish 44-11 in regular season games at Mac Court. However, their only post-season game at the storied gym resulted in a loss at the hands of Alabama-Birmingham in 2000, 80-79.
It would be wrong to compare this year’s Oregon four to the group that finished their careers last season, but it would be unfair as well to cast them aside. Since Craighead and Unaka first put on the Oregon green and yellow, the Ducks have gone 1-3 in the NCAA
Tournament, but more importantly, helped extend the team’s streak to eight consecutive appearances in the tournament.
What they’ve accomplished has come in the face of adversity. First came the issues surrounding former coach Jody Runge’s resignation, and now with the entrance of Bev Smith and her style, the Ducks have struggled.
“They have been through the toughest year in a coaching transition,” the first-year head coach said. “It’s been a tough year for them, but they’ve responded.”
Unaka and Fredrick began the season as the starting frontcourt for the Ducks, but have since been replaced. That didn’t matter on senior night, as the two joined Craighead and Curry on the floor to start the game.
The four seniors made their presence known immediately.
After junior Alissa Edwards missed a shot to start the game, Fredrick followed with two layups.
One minute later, Craighead hit a jumper, and after Edwards followed with another, Craighead did it again. However, this time, the one she hit came from beyond the three-point arc.
The Elma, Wash., native finished the night 4-of-5, including 2-of-3 from downtown. Known for her three-point prowess, Craighead nailed her last one in a regular season game at Mac Court with 7:08 left in the first half. Fittingly, it came from junior Shaquala Williams, who, had it not been for a torn anterior cruciate ligament last season, would have ended her Oregon home career as well.
In the first eight minutes of the game, the Ducks posted 15 points. Thirteen of those came from
the seniors.
And when it was all said and done, the four contributed with a combined 32 points.
“I think that the win tonight is because the seniors stepped on the floor and did all of the things we talked about to win a basketball game,” Smith said.
But the win over California won’t be the final time these four will step on the floor at the Pit. Oregon hosts the inaugural Pacific-10 Conference Tournament, beginning March 1, and each knows what they will need to do to win it all.
The only way for the four to win their final game at the storied gym is to win the tournament.
“(The game) got a little emotional, but not really, because I know I’ve got (at least) one more game here,” Unaka said.
And Craighead, who has been a leader for the Ducks in her career, showed no emotion at the end of the game, instead deciding to save it for the tournament.
“I didn’t cry tonight,” she said. “I’ve cried at every senior night except my own.”