Women’s basketball
Shame on you, Oregon. Shame on you for making the rest of the Pacific-10 Conference think you were down and out.
You had no Jody Runge at the bench and you had just lost four major contributors.
But, you had Bev Smith heading up the program — the first coach to do so in eight years who wasn’t named Runge — and yeah, Shaquala Williams was back.
So, the conference really shouldn’t have been that surprised that you won the WNIT.
But don’t look back.
“That’s pretty much history,” Smith said about the pressure of last season amid the controversy following Runge’s resignation. “We’ve turned the corner and we’re on to bigger and better things.”
And the 22-13 record, coupled with the postseason championship: What does that mean to the program?
“It’s good to know what we’re capable of doing,” Smith said.
The Ducks will indeed lose four seniors again, but unlike last season, there is a much stronger foundation with the team’s returners.
Williams is back for her senior season, junior Cathrine Kraayeveld may be a contender for Pac-10 Player of the Year, and sophomores Andrea Bills and Kedzie Gunderson progressed faster last season than anyone could have imagined.
Point is, the Ducks should be a competitive force in the Pac-10.
Williams “is a catalyst for us,” Smith said. “But we have a really good group of players surrounding her. It’ll be hard for teams to just focus on Shaquala.”
In the off-season, Smith and associate head coach Allison McNeill literally went home to recruit a portion of Oregon’s five new players for the 2002-03 season.
Smith, the former Canadian national coach, and McNeill, the current taskmaster for the Canadian program, went north for freshmen Carolyn Ganes and Yadili Okwumabua. The duo represents Oregon’s freshmen contingent and give the Ducks two Canadians on the roster for the first time since the 1983-84 season.
“It’s a good area for us,” Smith said of Canada. “We’re going to keep our eyes open to keep the program at a competitive level.”
Not unlike past Oregon squads, Ganes and Okwumabua are not expected to come in and play much of a role early on. Like Gunderson and Bills, however, both could be crucial backups late in the season, especially 6-foot-2 forward Okwumabua, one of six talented but young frontcourt players on Oregon’s roster.
“We just want them to come in and work as hard as they can,” Smith said.
Of the Ducks’ five recruits for the upcoming season, two — sophomore Chelsea Wagner and junior Corrie Mizusawa — must sit out this season due to the NCAA’s rule regarding transfers.
While both will not be able to step onto the court in a game this season, they need to pay attention to Pac-10 play. With Williams, Kourtney Shreve and Alissa Edwards graduating at the conclusion of the season, Wagner and Mizusawa could be Oregon’s future starting backcourt.
Year one produced 22 wins and a WNIT banner for McArthur Court.
Year two of the Bev Smith era is about to begin for the Ducks.
With McArthur Court hosting the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament this season, the Ducks are definitely looking forward to late March.
“We want to be here,” Smith said. “Not that we need any more motivation or anything.”
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