Jillian Alleyne’s streak of consecutive double-doubles may be over, but the junior has etched her name into NCAA women’s basketball history.
In total, Alleyne had a double-double in 21 straight games, the third most in NCAA history.
During her streak, spanning back to February 8, 2014 against USC, Alleyne averaged 19.6 points per game and 16.3 rebounds per game.
Alleyne said she was sad to see her streak come to an end, but values the team’s first Pac-12 win of the season against UCLA, 62-46. She finished with eight points and 15 rebounds against the Bruins.
“I think it hurt me a little bit more personally, but the team win was huge,” Alleyne said. “I never put myself before the team. I think that win was huge, but just for myself, it was something I claimed and worked hard for.”
She said seeing her streak snap abruptly humbled her.
“It lets you know not everything is granted,” Alleyne said. “You have to work every day, every time for that. It hurt, it sucked, but I’m going to get the ball rolling again, so not worried at all.”
The string of 21 straight double-doubles is the new Pac-12 record, breaking the record of 18 she shared with former USC standout Cheryl Miller.
Head coach Kelly Graves said that in “crazy sort of way” he is glad it came to an end.
“Number one, I think she was feeling some pressure with it,” Graves said. “Now she doesn’t have to worry about it. She can start a new one, no big deal. … And I think it lets the team know even if Jill doesn’t get 20 points, we can still compete and win. I think it helped us on a lot of different levels.”
Alleyne’s mark of 21 double-doubles places her behind Courtney Paris of Oklahoma with 112 and Artemis Spanou of Robert Morris with 33. Paris is currently the starting center for the WNBA’s Tulsa Shock and Spanou was invited to a tryout with the WNBA’s Washington Mystics last spring.
Her current mark of 53 career double-doubles is third-most in Oregon history.
Some of her best performances during her streak came against Washington and Washington State last season. Against the Huskies on February 21, 2014, she finished with 34 points and 25 rebounds. She had 28 points and 21 boards against Wazzu on March 6, 2014 during the Pac-12 tournament.
“Her streak says a lot about how she is as a player and a leader—to have someone so talented and so selfless,” Lexi Petersen said. “She’s just an honor to play with.”
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne