Members of the Oregon women’s basketball team were honored with a number of awards in the season-ending banquet last Friday. Held at the Valley River Inn, the banquet celebrated the contributions of Oregon’s five seniors before of a crowd of almost 200 supporters.
“The seniors did a tremendous job and were extremely gracious for their opportunity to represent the University of Oregon and be apart of the community in Eugene,” coach Bev Smith said in a media release. “It was a very emotional and special night.”
The seniors included Eleanor Haring, Cicely Oaks, Jessie Shetters, Carolyn Ganes and Jamie Hawkins.
Forward Haring, who matured from a role player her first three years in Eugene, to go-to scorer earned MVP honors. She joined the 1,000-point club with 19 points in Oregon’s 74-56 loss to Stanford on senior night on Feb. 17.
Fiery guard Kaela Chapdelaine earned Best Defensive Player Award. Chapdelaine, who shifted from the point guard position to shooting guard, was often assigned to defend the opposition’s best player, whether it was USC’s Eshaya Murphy, UCLA’s Noelle Quinn or many others.
Forward Mary Sbrissa, who made her biggest impact in practices, picked up the team’s Most Improved Award. She also earned the Ducks’ Scholar Athlete Award.
Operations Director Natasha Ruckwardt earned the Green and Gold Award. The former Oregon basketball player, then known as Natasha O’Brien, is stepping down to spend time with her two young children.
The Oregon women’s basketball team finished 17-14 and earned its second Women’s National Invitation Tournament bid since 2002.
– Jeffrey Dransfeldt