Bev Smith lined up the new players and introduced the roster to the awaiting media Tuesday afternoon.
More new faces than old dotted the lineup.
The head coach named the six freshmen on the Oregon women’s basketball team. With the new players, comes a healthy dose of height.
The 6-foot-5 Nicole Canepa, 6-foot-4 Ellyce Ironmonger, 6-foot-2 Ellie Manou and 6-foot-1 Victoria Kenyon are all expected to contribute in their first year playing Division I college basketball.
“I think we’re going to be ready,” said Canepa, a soft-spoken center/forward from St. Ignatius Prep in San Francisco. “We’re strong. We’re young, but we have heart and determination.”
Canepa says the opportunity to contribute early in her college career was one factor in her decision to come to Eugene, along with the atmosphere.
“Obviously coming in and being able to play – it meant a lot, but also I knew that there was a lot of work to be done – a lot of focus and I knew that the coaches were going to be on me hard trying to get me ready for the season,” Canepa said.
The extra height is expected to alleviate the loss of 6-foot-6 Jessie Shetters, who, despite missing 11 games last season, led Oregon in rebounding at seven a game and also 6-foot-3 post Carolyn Ganes.
Ironmonger and Manou have both played for the Australian Institute of Sport, the last coaching stop for current Oregon assistant Phil Brown.
Kenyon, who is from Queensland, Australia, arrived last January and redshirted so she could jump-start her adjustment to college basketball and the college lifestyle. Kenyon is versatile and can also play along the perimeter.
All the posts Oregon has brought in have been for a reason: players who Smith says can contribute immediately. That will help the returning players, who are predominantly on the perimeter in Kaela Chapdelaine, Tamika Nurse, Micaela Cocks and Taylor Lilley.
“Our returners, who are all perimeter people, know that we need an inside threat for them to have some space on the outside,” Smith said.
Chapdelaine is the final tie to Oregon’s last NCAA Tournament appearance in the 2004-05 season, when as a freshman, she played alongside 6-foot-3 Andrea Bills and 6-foot-4 Cathrine Kraayeveld. Bills and Kraayeveld helped lead the Ducks past TCU in the first round and into the second round against eventual champion Baylor.
So, for Chapdelaine, the incoming height is welcome.
“The height is great, but they’re feisty too so we’re going to be really tough rebounders and I think defensively it’s going to help and offensively we’re real tough inside,” she said.

Ticket prices lowered

Smith responded to feedback from the women’s basketball fan base and lowered ticket prices during the off-season.
Season tickets are now available for an average of 14 percent less than last season. An Oregon reserved season ticket, then $224, can now be bought for $180, a 20 percent savings. For a family season ticket of two adults and three children, it is now $315, which is $21 a game for a family of five.
“We just felt that we wanted to be competitive across the board with the Pac-10 and also be loyal to our faithful followers who have paid some big bucks for those tickets in the past years,” Smith said.
Smith, who says she’s already received positive feedback, said research of prices throughout the Pacific-10 Conference showed Oregon had one of the higher ticket prices in the conference along with Stanford. The reduction also brings it down to the level of the ticket price that it was when they had the highest attendance during the Jody Runge years, Smith said.
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