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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 1997)
The twelve days of UO basketball Although you returned to school this week with Bing Crosby and holiday carols still stuck in your head, let me offer you a rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” that accu rately reflects the holiday season of an Oregon women’s basket ball player. On the last day of Christmas my coaches gave to me twelve turbulent plane flights, eleven packs of pretzels, ten sets of sprints, nine days of snow, eight scrapes and scratches, seven rag ing referees, six days of travel, five golden games, four days at home, three TV appearances, two Christmas parties, and one Pacif ic-10 victory! After returning from icy-cold conditions in Spokane, Washing ton; Anchorage, Alaska; and Ames, Iowa, our team seems to be in tune with the Pac-10 season that is heating up before us. Our preseason schedule is an essen tial part of our preparation for conference play. While on the road we leant more about the game of basketball, but also more about each other. The musicians on our team, Cindie Edamura, Renae Fegent, Kirsten McKnight and Shannon Thome, who make up the band “Celery,” entertain us in airports with their guitars. Games of hacky-sack and frisbee enjoyed by myself, Mendy Benson, Ari anne Boyer and Nicole Strange encourage us to spontaneously meet other travelers as our game toys accidentally fall into their Player’s NOTEBOOK laps, bonja Curtis is the queen of crosswords and Jenny Mowe al ways has a glamour magazine in hand. Constant interaction 24 hours a day devel ops team dynamics that coin cide with our ability to cooperate and understand each other on the court. That is not to say there are not moments of frustration when your plane is delayed, or your luggage doesn’t arrive, or you discover that your roommate snores. Nevertheless, these trials teach us about what defines us as individuals, and are part of a maturation process that silently takes shape over the col lege years and extends far be yond the walls of McArthur Court. But inside those same walls, we now face our biggest and most immediate challenge. We must draw upon what we have learned in the off-season and in practice since Nov. 1 to establish our selves as one of the teams to beat in the Pac-10 title race. Our team has been one of the hunters in the past, a team that would pull off surprising upsets with a confidence that promised future success. That time is now upon us, and we are one of the teams being hunted. Our role has changed and so have our hopes, dreams and ex pectations. We are surrounded by a field of talented teams that have their own sets of aspira tions. Each week we study game films, learn the opponents’ plays and condition ourselves in preparation to play each week end. There is no team in the con ference that can be overlooked in the pursuit of our goal. As we enter winter term with a 2-0 record in the Pac-10, we are also bombarded with a schedule of four unfamiliar classes five days a week and six days of bas ketball practice and games. This time around it may not be a Christmas carol, but it’s sure the experience of a lifetime. Betty Ann Boeving is a member of the Oregon women's basket ball team. This article is an exclusive to the Emerald. Women: Oregon excited for weekend match-up against Washington Huskies ■ Continued from Page 11 team (9-2, 2-0) more than it needed to win. For the second straight game the Ducks used a bal anced offense combined with a strong defensive ef fort to cruise to victory. Oregon had 11 players see 10 or more minutes of action while the team tied a sea son-high rebounding mark with 50. Forward Arianne Boyer scored 16 points, center Renae Fegent had 15, and forward Sonja Curtis added 13. “We have some kids that are very dissimilar to each other playing at different positions,” said Ore gon head coach Jody Runge, “so it’s really interesting to put a lot of different looks out there on the floor and to be to look for different things with those line ups. The most positive thing is that our legs are fresh and that we’re probably shooting better because we’re not having to rest on defense.” Being able to have “fresh” players on the court at all times enabled Oregon to execute its game plan. “Part of our plan was to run the floor and try to get some fastbreak baskets because they didn’t have a lot of depth — especially inside,” said Oregon head coach Jody Runge. Oregon attacked the inside early, using Boyer, Fe gent, Curtis and center Jenny Mowe down at the posts, feeding them the ball on nearly every offensive possession. With nine minutes gone by in the first half, the Ducks held a 19-10 advantage and began a 21-8 scoring run before the first half came to a close. In the second half, the Ducks added to their 18 point lead by stretching the Cougars’ defense with outside shooting. After attempting only four three point shots in the first half, Oregon hit 3-of-ll triples in the second. Oregon finished 4-of-15 on the night. Next up for the Ducks is Washington, a rivalry game that should live up to the billing. “It’s always such a great game,” Fegent said. “We’re two very good teams and that alone will make it a rival game.” The Huskies and Ducks will play on Saturday at Mac Court. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m. with live television coverage on the Fox Sports Network. Rebounds: Washington State’s Kunze held to only one rebound in 24 minutes of play ■ Continued from Page 11 Against the Cougars, Oregon got its share of second shots. Of the Ducks’ 50 rebounds, 20 came on the offensive end where Ben son and Boyer combined for nine offensive rebounds. Oregon’s dominance of the glass drove Washington State to tie its season-low of just 30-team rebounds. And Washington State center Yvonne Kunze, who was averaging six rebounds per game before Thursday night, finished with only one rebound against Oregon; however, Kunze did get herself into foul trouble, which limited her to 24 minutes. The Cougars’ loss to Oregon moves them to 0-6 on the season when having less rebounds than their opponent. “They were pretty strong on the inside and we were getting pushed out,” Cougars’ guard Jade Hyett said. “We boxed out, but we let them push us underneath the basket.” Oregon center Renae Fegent, who finished with five rebounds, was one of the Ducks doing the pushing. “That’s something 1 personally have been trying to concentrate on,” Fegent said of her rebound ing. “It is something that we need to improve, especially [against] the team tonight. “They had a couple of big play ers, and we knew we had to get some offensive boards and make them work hard.” Runge said the key to the Ducks’ rebounding was keeping Washington State’s centers out of the key. “As long as you can catch those girls out of the lane and keep them out of there, you’re OK,” Runge said. “It is real hard when you let them get in the lane to push [Kunze] and [center Amy Saneholtz] away from the basket because those are some big gals.” Saneholtz and forwards Jen nifer Ludwicki and Doreen Evans each finished with three re bounds, tying them for second on the team. YOU CAN READ THE EMERALD FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. o.d.e. on the world wide web: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/-ode IT’S JUST LIKE REALLY BEING HERE, BUT WITHOUT ALL THE RAIN. BREW YOUR OWN BEER 17th &Willamette 683-4064 Fine Italian <& Northwest Cuisine Kitchen open ‘til bar closes Lunch Served M-F11:30-2:00 Live Jazz Nightly NO COVER http://www. rio. comAjo feds/ Lunch M-F 259 E. 5th Ave. • 343-8488 Dinner 7 Nights OREGON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BI MART HALF-TIME $ § s Dash-Jor-Cash $ $ $ OREGON vs. WASHINGTON Saturday, January 11 McArthur Court • 12:30 pm 2 lucky U of 0 students will have a chance to scramble around the court and search for as many Bi-Mart dollars as they can. Bi-Mart offers everything from electronics to household items and food products. Sign up at the promotional table before the game. UO Students admitted free with current l.D. Card. For more information call 346-5690TTY 346-5418.
