If Amy Taylor had her way, she’d be home right now, in Seattle, practicing with the Washington Huskies women’s basketball team, preparing for a game against rival Washington State this weekend.
Then, after the game, she would make the 10-minute trip north to her suburban home in Shoreline and have a nice home-cooked meal.
Instead, Taylor will throw on her white Oregon uniform tonight for a 7 p.m. bout with Southern California at McArthur Court, and, if things go well, dress for a late-night dessert at the University Inn.
“Growing up in Seattle, yeah, I wanted to go to UW,” said Taylor, one of six freshmen to join the Oregon women’s team this year, “but I’m glad I’m here now.”
Freshmen guard Kedzie Gunderson, of Bellevue, Wash., was in a similar situation in high school. Oregon was not even an option for her in the beginning.
“I wasn’t even looking at Oregon, and they weren’t heavily recruiting me,” Gunderson said. “I was always like ‘I want to get out of the Northwest, I don’t want to be in another Seattle.’ But I made the recruiting trip (to Eugene) and gave it a chance. Once I visited, I loved it.”
And the program is loving its freshmen, which was ranked by All-Star Girls Report as the 17th-best recruiting class in the country.
The Ducks’ four other recruits — Andrea Bills, Brandi Davis, Amy Parrish and Catherria Turner — also came from beyond the Oregon state borders, but have, with the exception of one, found a common bond — the team.
With rave reviews, the freshmen have brought an ailing team together. With the departure of four starters from last year’s team plus the addition of a new coach, Bev Smith, the face of Oregon women’s basketball suddenly shifted 180 degrees.
“Before the recruiting process began, we knew that we were going to lose a lot of points and a lot of rebounds, but we lost a lot of kids that defined the Oregon program,” said assistant coach Dan Muscatell, the recruiting coordinator and the sole survivor from former coach Jody Runge’s staff. “(The freshmen) were recruited with the idea of replacing some of that — and they’ve done a great job. They not only represent a fine group of players, but a fine group of people.”
The evidence is everywhere, perhaps most notably in the panache of the upperclassmen. Every so often, veteran guard Shaquala Williams flashes a smile — a rarity in her first three years in the program.
“This team is so funny and so outgoing that it would be impossible to sit in a room and not get involved in a conversation,” Williams said. “They just draw you in and open you up and make you feel comfortable.
“Their personality is far different from any we’ve had here before. We never used to laugh in practice before; everything was always so serious.”
Turner is the lone exception to the freshmen fairy tale. The 5-foot-6 guard from Tucson, Ariz., who averaged a triple-double in high school, requested and was granted her release from the team on Jan. 9, after playing in just six games.
On a team with five returning guards, playing time has been tough to come by for the freshmen guards. As Taylor said, “You come from high school where you are the star of the team,” to become one of the last people off the bench.
It’s not an easy transition for anyone. Turner will finish the academic year at Oregon and will likely transfer after that, Parrish said. The five remaining Ducks are contributing as best they can now, while anticipating the future.

Bills
Of all the freshmen, the 6-foot-3 post from Moreno Valley, Calif., has made the most progress this year — mainly because she’s had to.
The only true center on the team, Bills has become a key reserve in the paint, averaging nearly 20 minutes per game since Pac-10 play started. She is also averaging 8.6 points per game during conference play (third-best on the team) and 5.4 rebounds.
“She can be one of the most powerful forces Oregon’s ever had,” Taylor said of Bills. “She’s not as big as (former Oregon center) Jenny Mowe, but she can pound people. I really
admire her.”
Bills’ Kryptonite?
“I’m working on my free throws,” said Bills, who is shooting just 40 percent from the charity stripe this season.

Davis
“You never know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” said the 6-foot guard of sitting out this season for academic reasons.
Davis is a “partial qualifier” this season, meaning she can only participate in practices. She will eligible to play next year as a sophomore and can play a fourth year if she gets her degree in four years.
“I have to earn it back, which is what I’m doing,” the Sonora, Calif., native said. “Academics have been great for me. I did better than I thought I would do. I’m not satisfied, but I know what I can do now.”
Oregon fans won’t see Davis on the court until next year, which can’t come soon enough for her.
“I cannot wait to play with all of them,” Davis said of her freshmen counterparts. “I am so excited just to watch us grow as a team.”

Gunderson
It’s not often a freshman gets the chance to outshine a senior. Gunderson had her moment last Saturday against Oregon State.
Gunderson found herself matched up with the Beavers’ Felicia Ragland, the reigning Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year who leads the league in scoring this year. Midway through the second half, with the game close, Ragland blew past the Oregon freshman on her way to an easy layin — only it wasn’t. As Ragland skied for the shot, the 6-foot Gunderson came from behind and swatted Ragland’s shot out of bounds.
Gunderson bumped chests with a teammate and gave a little smirk on a job well done.
Ragland did not forget.
On Oregon’s State’s next possession, Ragland went right after Gunderson, sank a jumper in the lane and drew a foul on the freshman.
Welcome to Pac-10 basketball.
“It’s been a big change going from high school basketball to the Pac-10 — everything changes,” said Gunderson, who is averaging 3.4 points in 8.6 minutes this season. ” I just need to take what I get and appreciate it.”

Parrish

At first, the 6-foot-2 Parrish seemed to be the one to fill the reserve hole in the middle, taking what is now Bill’s reserve role.
Parrish was on the court for 15 minutes in the second game of the year, an 83-65 rout of Miami of Ohio on Nov. 18. She scored a season-high six points and grabbed five boards.
“The first couple of games, I was worn out and I got tired easily,”
Parrish said. “I just need to get into better shape.”
Parrish’s progress has been slowed by illness and injury. She had the flu for awhile and is now suffering back spasms, which sidelined her for the Oregon State game.
No worries, though. Parrish, too, is eager to see what the future holds.
“I think we’re going to be good,” she said. “We should be competing for nationals, hopefully by my junior year.”

Taylor

At 5-foot-8, Taylor may be the smallest freshman on the team, but her energy and enthusiasm stand tall.
“I’m a pretty energetic person anyway, and I felt that if I could transfer my energy in a different way, that I could still have a positive impact on this team,” she said. “Even being at the bottom… I just want to bring people
together.”
One of the top scorers in Washington state history in high school, Taylor was named by The Seattle Times as a “Player for the Next Century.”
While the transition from high school to college doesn’t always produce immediate success, Oregon fans won’t have to wait a century to see Taylor and this year’s freshmen class generate excitement at McArthur Court.