Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Monday, January 27,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
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Five athletes leave UO volleyball squad
Oregon will return just six
players next season from
a squad that finished 1-17
in fall 2002 Pac-10 play
Volleyball
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
Five players from the Oregon vol
leyball team have transferred or left
the team for personal reasons, the
Emerald learned Friday.
Heather Gilmore, Lindsay Mur
phy, Diana Blank and Erika Wid
mark — all currently juniors — as
well as sophomore Alisa Nelson,
have all left the team. According to
senior Amanda Porter, Gilmore has
decided to transfer to Idaho State,
where her sister, Kylie, is currently
a sophomore.
Gilmore declined to discuss the
specifics of her decision, but did re
lease a prepared statement through
Idaho State regarding the move.
“I’m happy to be in Pocatello,” she
said. “I’m looking forward to com
peting with my sister at Idaho State.
I think this will be a great move for
me. I enjoyed my time at Oregon
and will cherish the memories I have
from there.”
Derek Smolik, assistant director of
sports information for the Bengals,
said Gilmore has already enrolled in
classes at Idaho State.
Murphy has also decided to trans
fer, and will attend Eastern Washing
ton next season.
“She’ll start for us, for sure,” East
ern Washington head coach Wade
Benson said. “In my opinion, she’s
one of the best ball-control players
in the nadon.
“We’re really excited that she’s
coming. We think she’s going to be a
big factor for us. Lindsay fits into our
system extremely well.”
Benson added that Murphy will at
tend Eastern Washington in the spring
because she “wanted a chance to say
goodbye to everybody.”
Blank has decided not to trans
fer, but left the team for her own
“happiness.”
“It was a very personal decision,”
she said. “I needed to do what was
best for me. I needed to make sure I
was doing this for my own happiness.
It wouldn’t be fair to go out there and
not give 100 percent each day.”
Nelson’s and Widmark’s reasons
for leaving the team are still un
known. Neither could be reached for
comment.
“I think it was all for the best,”
Porter said. “Everybody made per
sonal choices. Everybody is happy.”
Gilmore was sixth on the team
last season with 93 kills, while Mur
phy, who primarily played the
libero position, easily led the team
with 321 digs. Blank played in a ca
reer-high 82 games and posted 12
service aces.
Nelson was felled by a leg injury
Turn to Volleyball, page 8A
Ridnour rescues Oregon
in absence of other Luke
The junior guard scores 24 points in the
second half to lead the Ducks to a victory
Men’s basketball
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
He isn’t faster than a speeding bullet. Or
stronger than a freight train.
But Luke Ridnour is Oregon’s Superman.
With “the other” Luke — Luke Jackson — on
the bench with a severely lacerated finger, Rid
nour scored 24 of the Ducks’ final 34 points to
rescue Oregon from a loss to lowly Washington
State. The Ducks trailed 32-31 at halftime, but
thanks in large part to Ridnour, they buried the
Cougars in the second half and won the game 76
66 in front of a sold-out McArthur Court crowd.
“With about 30 seconds left in halftime, I
called (Ridnour) over to the sidelines and told
him to take over the game,” Oregon head coach
Ernie Kent said. “I felt, as a team, we were a lit
tle stagnant; we needed a little more leadership
out there. He needed to be a little bit more force
ful with things.”
Ridnour was forceful with the ball in the sec
ond frame. With a little more than seven minutes
on the clock and the score tied at 51, Ridnour
drove the lane, hit a runner and was fouled. He
completed the three-point play to spark a 15-5
run that broke the game open. Ridnour scored 11
of those 15 points.
Ridnour finished the game with 28 points to
lead all scorers, and added seven assists. Ian
Crosswhite continued to wield a hot hand, scor
ing 14 points. Andre Joseph, subbing into the
starting lineup for the injured Jackson, had 11
points, including a spectacular dunk at the end of
the game. Joseph, on a break, bounced the ball to
himself and slammed it home, causing Kent to
call him over to the sideline.
“We had a parenting moment,” Kent said of the
conversation between him and Joseph. “Any of
you who have children will understand what a
parenting moment is.”
It doesn’t take a child to see that the Cougars
— who haven’t won a Pacific-10 Conference
game since Jan. 31, 2002 — weren’t the best
team to walk into Mac Court this season. Wash
ington State’s one conference victory last year
was a two-point win over Washington, and then
the Cougars lost their top returning scorer, Mar
cus Moore, for the season to an injury.
That’s why the halftime standings were dis
tressing to some Ducks.
“We took them lightly; we didn’t think they
would be as good as they were,” Joseph said.
“When we came out of halftime, we got our com
posure together.”
Joseph seemed nervous stepping in for Jackson
at first, but warmed up as the game went on. He
went 0-for-4 from the field in the first half, but
went 4-for-7 in the second frame.
The Ducks all agreed that the game was good
because it allowed them to adjust to Jackson’s ab
sence before hitting the road next week to play
UCLA and USC.
Oregon will have to play those two games on
the road, where the Ducks have been shaky this
season. Oregon is 2-3 on the road, not including
its win over Kansas in the Pape Jam, which was
played at the Rose Garden in Portland.
“We have to understand that (going on the
road) isn’t a vacation,” Oregon guard James
Davis said. “It’s not just a chance to eat dinner
and stay in nice hotels.”
The last time Oregon went on the road was a
disastrous trip to the Bay Area, where the Ducks
were blown out by a combined 40 points at Cali
fornia and Stanford. But the Oregon players say
they’ve put that behind them, and, after winning
four straight, look to turn their road woes around
in Southern California.
“Our goal was to come back here and win all
four of these games,” Ridnour said. “Now we
have to regroup and hope for the best.”
Oregon’s game against UCLA on Thursday will
be televised on Fox Sports Net. Tipoff is sched
uled for 7:30 p.m.
Contact the sports editor
atpeterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
Adam Amato Emerald
Luke Ridnour had 24 of Oregon's final 34 points in their 76-66 win Saturday night.
Men adjust, offense struggles in life without Luke
WlA
Jackson
Washington State hangs close as
the Ducks miss one of their stars
Adam Jude
Senior Sports Reporter
You don’t really know what you have
until it’s gone. The 23rd-ranked Oregon
men’s basketball team learned that
quickly Saturday.
After perhaps the bloodiest injury in
Oregon basketball history, Luke Jackson
needed 13 stitches on his right index fin
ger (non-shooting hand) after suffering a
laceration in a win Thursday over against
Washington. With his hand wrapped,
Jackson watched from the McArthur
Court bench Saturday as the Ducks faced
Washington State; it was the first time
Jackson sat out a game since his sopho
more year at Creswell High School.
The only Pac-10 player ranked in the
top-10 in points, rebounds, assists and
steals per game, Jackson will miss Ore
gon’s next two games at UCLA and USC,
and perhaps more.
“It’s more or less going to week-by
week than day-by-day,” Oregon head
coach Ernie Kent said of Jackson’s re
turn. “We’ll see what happens when we
get back from the L.A. trip (next week).”
The Ducks (14-4 overall, 4-3 Pacific-10
Conference) clearly missed their second
leading scorer and top rebounder against
the lowly Cougars — at least initially.
Washington State (5-12,0-8) hit 13-of-26
shots in the first half and held a surpris
ing 32-31 lead at the break.
“You don’t realize how many little
things you miss,” Oregon point guard
Luke Ridnour said of Jackson. “It’s
tough to adjust (to his absence) right
away. All you can ask for is everyone to
play hard.”
Andre Joseph started in Jackson’s
place, but was 0-for-4 from the field in
the first half.
“There was a difference without him
out there,” Joseph said. “He’s such a
good all-around player. It takes awhile
to adjust.”
Yes, it certainly took some time, but
the Ducks figured out how to win without
Jackson. Ridnour, who played all 40 min
utes, scored 24 of his 28 points in the
second half as Oregon held on for a 76
66 win over the Cougs in front of a sold
out Mac Court crowd.
The Ducks had just four turnovers in
the second half (13 total) and used a ha
rassing defense to nab 14 steals, includ
ing a career-high five steals by Joseph.
“Obviously we missed Luke Jackson
out there, but I thought it was a good
Turn to Jackson, page 8A