PORTLAND — The Ducks are 5-0.
Déjà vu, anyone?
Everyone grab a piece of wood because the Oregon women’s basketball team doesn’t need a repeat of last year.
Desks. Chairs. The Trojan Horse. (Random, I know.)
Anything made from trees.
Do you remember what happened last year?
Hey kiddies, time for a crash course in history.
Last year: 5-0 marked the beginning of the end to the 2003-04 season. Ranked No. 20 in the nation, the Ducks lost do-everything player Cathrine Kraayeveld for the season with a knee injury during a practice at the Morse Event Center at Northwest Christian College. Oregon went 9-15 the rest of the year, 6-12 in the Pacific-10 Conference.
This year: 5-0 marks…well, who knows?
Unfortunately, this soothsayer knows nothing (in advance) nor wants to predict anything (too early in the season), but what I can say is I saw a team on Saturday.
Not just five players on the court wearing the same uniform, but a true team.
The Ducks’ 64-40 victory Saturday at the Papé Jam was a great example of that.
It’s not a surprise that Kraayeveld is the best player on the team. Coaches know that. Players know that. My friend’s brother’s grandmother’s aunt’s mailman knows that.
On Saturday, however, I saw an Oregon team that doesn’t need to use Kraayeveld as a crutch. The Ducks have too many good
players to let that happen.
There’s that point guard, Corrie Mizusawa is it? Thirty-nine assists and only nine turnovers for a 4.3 assist-to-turnover ratio?
That’s pretty good.
How about that Andrea Bills? Ten points and six boards per game?
Not bad.
Eleanor Haring? Twenty-one points against Miami last week on 10 of 11 shooting? Thirteen points on 6 of 7 shooting Saturday, including six in a row to increase the lead and capture the momentum at the end of the first half?
Sounds pretty clutch to me.
Speaking of clutch, how ’bout Chelsea Wagner? Top five in three-pointers made
in the conference, adding five more against the Colonials?
Basically, Oregon has four legitimate scorers in its starting lineup, and any one of them is capable of buoying the team in case Kraayeveld isn’t shooting lights out.
“One of the things that I am very proud about our team is that they are a real team,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “Defensively, to be that good you have to play as a team.”
Oh yeah, defense. As a team.
“(Defense) is something we focus on,” Smith said, “and we know that is our foundation.”
Oregon held George Washington to 16.1
percent shooting in the second half. For the game, the Colonials shot 24.6 percent.
Not too shabby, eh?
The Colonials’ 40 points was their lowest total since 1988, and the fewest points Oregon has
allowed since holding Boise State to 29 in 2001.
“They’re a terrific team,” George Washington head coach Joe
McKeown said. “I think that Kraayeveld’s return made a big
difference. Last year we blew them out, and this year they did it to us, and her return was the major factor.”
Even though Kraayeveld only scored five points, she collected a game-high 10 rebounds and found other ways to contribute to the team.
Because in the end, a true team is the one that gets it done. A true team has the ability to adapt to off nights, injuries and suspensions.
Last year: I don’t think that
happened.
This year: I think this team can do anything.
So congrats Oregon, Saturday was a true team victory.

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