Sports Editor:
Adam Jude
adamjude@dailyemerald.com
Assistant Sports Editor:
Jeff Smith
jeffsmith@dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, April 2,2002
Best Bet
MLB: Chicago at Seattle
7 p.m., FSN
Different endings to storybook Duck seasons
Men toppled
in Elite Eight
byjayhawks
■The Oregon men lose to Kansas in
the Elite Eight, and are disappointed
despite the successful season
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
MADISON, Wis. — Oregon head
coach Ernie Kent stopped for a moment
and closed his eyes as the madness
swirled around him before the tip-off of
this monumental game.
The moment
stretched into a half
minute.
With bands blar
ing, announcers jab
bering and fans
screaming, Kent end
ed the serene minute
by crossing his chest,
then clapping his hands in support of
his Duck basketball team about to take
the floor.
Whether or not Kent’s prayer was an
swered, the No. 2 Ducks’ prayers to
knock off top-seeded Kansas in the Elite
Eight were not. The Jayhawks advanced
to the Final Four with a 104-83 victory
in front of 16,310 fans at the Kohl Cen
ter in Madison on March 24.
“This one hurts because you’re so
close to the Final Four,” Kent said after
the game.
Kent’s words mirrored the disap
pointment of the entire Oregon team,
despite the fact that the Ducks were un
derdogs to the Jayhawks, who went
through much of the season ranked No.
1 in the country.
“Coming into this game there was no
doubt in my mind that we could win,”
Oregon senior guard Freddie Jones said
after the contest. “I think if we were a
team that didn’t feel we could win, we
would be happy right now. But we’re
not satisfied with how far we came be
cause we expected ourselves to get to
the Final Four and compete for the
whole thing.”
Instead, Kansas competed in the Fi
nal Four, but was knocked out by Mary
land in the semifinal game Saturday. In
Thomas Patterson Emerald
Jamie Craighead (with trophy) and the Ducks celebrate their win in the WNIT Championship game.
that game the Jayhawks displayed few
traits of the juggernaut that steamrolled
Oregon one week prior.
Kansas was relentless on the boards
in the Elite Eight contest, outrebound
ing Oregon 63-34. Two Jayhawk players
— Drew Gooden and Nick Collison —
combined for one more total rebound
than the entire Duck squad.
“They really did control the
boards, and that was a big thing in the
game,” Oregon forward Luke Jackson
said. “They got a lot of second
chance points.”
Jackson’s observation was on the
mark. Kansas scored 31 second-chance
points to Oregon’s 12.
But despite the dominance of the Jay
hawk big men, the game still lived up to
its “track meet” billing. At the outset it
was clear the both teams wanted to run
the floor — fast. The first half took only
45 minutes to complete.
“They ran just as fast as us,” Oregon
guard Anthony Lever said. “We were
going to keep running no matter what.”
The fast play led to 20 total steals and
Turn to Men’s, page 6
Women ‘WNIT’ all,
thanks to standout
Kraayeveld shot
■ Ducks earn first postseason title since 1989 behind
the play of tournament MVP Cathrine Kraayeveld
By Hank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
Your name is Cathrine Kraayeveld and you’ve averaged
10.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game during Pacific-10 Con
ference play.
The Pac-10 Tournament is over, and the Ducks are resigned
to playing in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
If you’re the sophomore from Kirkland, Wash., what do you
do next?
Kraayeveld answered that question with
a simple layup at McArthur Court. Only, it
wasn’t that simple.
Tied with the Houston Cougars, 52-52,
entering the last 20 seconds of the WNIT
Championship on Wednesday, the Ducks
turned to Kraayeveld for help. Two weeks
earlier, the Pac-10 All-Academic honorable
mention honoree led the Ducks to a 50-48
win over Oregon State with game-winning shot after garner
ing the game’s last rebound.
It would only be natural for her to become the star once
again.
With 2.4 seconds left, the WNIT’s Most Valuable Player cut
through the paint and beautifully finger-rolled the ball into
the cylinder, clinching Oregon’s 22nd win of the season, and
first postseason championship since a WNIT title in 1989.
“I wasn’t even thinking about (it being a game-winning
shot),” Kraayeveld said. “I just took it to the hole, because
that’s the only thing I thought would work.”
The game marked Oregon’s fifth straight win. The
Ducks had defeated St. Mary’s (Calif.), Oregon State,
Washington, and Michigan State en route to the WNIT
Championship game.
Against Washington on March 20 in Seattle, the Ducks
were staring down the barrel of a gun. For the fourth time this
season, Oregon was to battle its conference foe, already hav
ing won two-of-three games against the Huskies.
With two teams so evenly matched, the law of averages
were in Washington’s hands. The Ducks had lost to the
Huskies in the teams’ only other matchup at Bank of Amer
ica Arena.
Senior Jamie Craighead had something to say to the
doubters.
In her final collegiate game in her home state, Craighead
was 5-of-13 from beyond the three-point arc, including three
in the final 2:15 of the game. Her last one, with 41.6 seconds
left, gave the Ducks enough of an oomph for a 77-73 win over
Washington.
Turn to Women’s, page 6
Oregon softball raises record to 18-11, will host No. 14 OSU
■ With outstanding pitching
and timely hitting, the Ducks
got ready for the Pac-10 stretch
By Chris Cabot
Oregon Daily Emerald
Before many Oregon students left for
sun-filled spring break destinations, the
Oregon softball team held a record of 14-8.
Confined to the cozy comforts of Eu
gene during most of their time away from
academics, head coach Brent Rincon’s
squad ran a record of 4-3 during the break,
which included two losses in Corvallis to
Oregon State.
The seven-game stretch began March 23
with an Oregon sweep of a doubleheader
against Colorado State, the Ducks winning
the first game 5-2 and the second 4-0. In the
second game, sophomore Anissa Meashin
tubby picked up the shutout, allowing only
four hits on six strikeouts.
The next day, the
Rams came back with a
shutout of their own, de
feating the Ducks 2-0.
Oregon freshman Lind
sey Kontra allowed only
five hits in the game, but
the Ducks’ offense could
not capitalize on the
many opportunities they had to provide
run support.
The string of shutouts continued with
two-straight Oregon wins over the
Rebels of UNLV during Friday’s double
header. The Ducks won the first game 2
0 behind Meashintubby’s third shutout
of the season.
In the second game, senior Connie Mc
Murren stepped up with a pitching per
formance for the record books. In a 5-0 win,
McMurren threw the first no-hitter of her
career, striking out six and walking five. It
was the 12th no-hitter in Oregon history
and the first since Bethany Smith’s in 1997.
“We had tremendous pitching today
and I think we've really turned the corner
and are ready for Pac-10 play,” Rincon
said after the doubleheader with UNLV.
“These were great performances by both
pitchers, and I’m very pleased with how
we played today.”
Pacific-10 Conference play began for the
Ducks on Friday when they traveled to
Corvallis for a two-game weekend against
the No. 14 Beavers. Oregon State blanked
the Ducks in the Friday contest 2-0. The
only two runs of the game were scored in
the bottom of the first inning, with Meash
intubby shutting down Oregon State after
the shaky first frame. Only Alyssa Laux
and Lakeesha Eversley could collect hits
for Oregon.
The Saturday contest was another win
for the strong Beaver team as they won in a
tight 3-2 ballgame. The Ducks trailed 3-1
heading into the seventh and staged a rally
but could only muster one run.
The season series with Oregon State con
tinues today in a game that was rescheduled
because of snow March 16. The game at
Howe Field begins at 2 p.m.
E-mail sports reporter Chris Cabot
at chriscabot@dailyemerald.com.