The Oregon women’s basketball team cracked the Associated Press top 25 this week.
After victories against Valparaiso and No. 9 LSU in the Women’s Sports Foundation Classic last weekend, the Ducks sit at No. 24 in the latest poll and are one of three — No. 6 Stanford and No. 22 Arizona are the others — Pacific-10 Conference teams in the top 25. Oregon likely joined the nation’s elite after defeating LSU, which was the highest-ranked non-conference opponent the Ducks have defeated since joining the Pac-10 in 1986.
Oregon knows a top 25 ranking equals respect, but also means it will be the focus of many upset-minded teams.
“It certainly puts a target on your back, but moving targets are hard to hit,” head coach Bev Smith said. “If we keep improving and are happy but not satisfied with the result on the weekend, then we’ll keep getting better, and we’ll be a little bit harder to hit as a target.”
Sophomore forward Carolyn Ganes said Oregon deserved its addition to the latest AP poll and the respect gained will eventually improve the Ducks on the court.
“We all knew coming into this season that we had the potential to be a force to be reckoned with,” Ganes said. “Now I think we’re just getting some respect from other people. In the end it will only make us better because other teams are going to feel that they have to bring their ‘A’ game.”

It’s just a number
While Oregon is happy with its No. 24 ranking, it realizes that it shouldn’t be an area of focus. Only two games into the season, many things are bound to change.
“The No. 24 ranking is quite an honor, but at the same time it’s just a number,” Smith said. “We don’t like to look at numbers. We just like to look at ourselves and demand that much more of ourselves.”
Smith added that LSU is a great example of a ranking not being very important.
“Certainly, looking at LSU, we had a lot of respect for (them) but No. 9 was just a number for them,” Smith said. “You’re only as good as your last game.”

Inside force
Oregon post players had a large role in the Ducks’ two exhibition and two nonconference victories. The trio of forward Cathrine Kraayeveld, junior center Andrea Bills and Ganes have dominated the paint and left opponents searching for answers.
Kraayeveld was named the most valuable player of the Women’s Sports Foundation Classic, finishing with 51 points and 20 rebounds in two games. Bills was named to the all-tournament team during the weekend, combining for 29 points, on 13 of 18 shooting and 18 rebounds. Ganes had a strong performance in an 87-29 win over Western Oregon in the Ducks’ final exhibition game. Ganes was simply too strong for the Wolves to handle, finishing with 22 points on 11 of 14 shooting.

Mizusawa madness
Junior point guard Corrie Mizusawa has brought excitement and consistency to the Oregon offense with her no-look passes and her knowledge of the game. She is averaging nine assists per game during nonconference play, including 13 against Valparaiso — one shy of tying a school record. Mizusawa dished out 15 assists against Strakonice — from the Czech Republic — but statistics from exhibition games don’t count.

Next up
After a week off, Oregon will travel to Spokane, Wash. Tuesday to face Gonzaga. It will be the Ducks’ first road game of the season and will be a good test to see if Oregon can stay focused. The Ducks will begin Pac-10 play on Dec. 27 at California.
“Especially coming off (the LSU) win, it will be good for us to go on the road and see if we can play like we did Sunday,” Kraayeveld said. “I think we just have to stay focused and play hard, and I think we’ll be all right.”