Sports Editor:
Hank Hager
hankhager@dailyemerald.com
Wednesday, January 7,2004
-Oregon Daily Emerald
SPORTS
Best bet
NBA:
Golden State vs. Dallas
9 p.m., ESPN
Adam Amato Photo Editor
Kellen Clemens passed for 2,400 yards and 18 touchdowns this season while leading Oregon to an 8-5 record and its seventh straight bowl game.
So close
In a season fraught with injury
and setbacks, the Ducks ended
the year just shy of nine wins
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
Oregon's 31-30 loss to Minnesota in the
2003 Sun Bowl a week ago was, in a way, a
microcosm of the Ducks' season.
Plagued by setbacks all season, Oregon fought
back to make it interesting, only to be shunned
in the final seconds.
DUCK
FOOTBALL
That's the kind of
season the Ducks had
to battle through. At
one point, they were
poster boys for Sports
Illustrated, the popular choice to be underdog
national champions, at least in the minds of
the fans.
Just weeks later, a bowl berth was in
jeopardy and their win over then-No. 3
Michigan forgotten.
It was a tough but rewarding year, the
Ducks say.
Turn to CLOSE, page 8
Jesse Thomas
Go the distance
Ducks'
losses
easily
forgotten
The Oregon men's basketball team
doesn't have a 6-3 overall record like
the statistic sheets show. And the Ducks
aren't off to a 1-1 start in Pacific-10 Con
ference play either.
If you take a doser look, Oregon is 8
1 overall and off to a perfect 2-0 start in
conference play.
Oregon's only loss this season has
come against then-No. 5 ranked Kansas
in Kansas City, Mo. That was a game
that no one really expected Oregon to
win anyway.
But a loss to Alabama by one point
on national television at the Las Vegas
Showdown — that didn't really happen
did it?
And a loss to UCLA after Oregon had
won the last five contests against the
Bruins, including last year's Pac-10
Tournament semifinals and the over
time victory spurred by senior Luke
Jackson's super-human-lacerated-fin
ger-13-stitch 27-point performance.
Did Oregon really let UCLA go
on a 22-2 run on Sunday and run
up the score as the Ducks watched
in confusion?
Well, yes, both happened. But, they
Turn to THOMAS, page 12
Oregon starters shift around
as focus moves to Pac-10 play
The Ducks’ starting five
includes two freshmen
who are now starters through
different circumstances
By Mindi Rice
Senior Sports Reporter
WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL
The Oregon women's basketball team
has made changes since the beginning of
_ the season.
Some changes,
like starting fresh
man Eleanor Har
- ing, have been a
choice.
Others — like choosing who will start
in place of senior Cathrine Kraayeveld —
are a necessity.
"Certainly, in the long run, (the loss of
Kraayeveld) is the situation that has been
difficult for us," head coach Bev Smith
said. "But I think we have the depth on
this team absolutely to overcome that
kind of loss."
Sophomore Carolyn Ganes started in
place of Kraayeveld on Dec. 4 against
Portland. She scored nine points and
grabbed two rebounds in 20 minutes on
the court.
The game was a wash for Oregon, a
76-58 loss that was the Ducks' first of the
season. The Ducks said later that they
weren't fully ready for the game.
"We were a little bit on our heels,"
Smith said after the Portland game.
"Each and every one of us tried to take
the shot that was going to be worth 15
points rather than be patient."
Kraayeveld's injury occurred during
Oregon's final practice in Eugene before
they headed north to Portland. The
Ducks had very little time to adjust to life
without their starting senior leader.
"You could definitely feel that she was
n't on the court," Ganes said after the
Portland loss. "Everybody needs to kind
of take a little time and get used to that
feeling and re-adjust our roles."
Now Jessica Shetters, a 6-foot-6 fresh
man from Portland, is starting in place of
Kraayeveld, getting leam-as-you-go expe
rience in the Pacific-10 Conference.
Haring is also a new starter for Ore
gon. The two freshmen showed Smith
potential off the bench in order to earn
their way into the starting five in their
first month.
What doesn't break you
makes you stronger
This isn't the first year that the Ducks
have gone through the trials and tribula
tions of an injury.
Last season, Kraayeveld missed 13
games due to a staph infection in her right
knee. In December 2002, Smith suspend
ed and later dismissed senior Shaquala
Williams from the team.
Through it all, the team chugged along.
After losing Kraayeveld again this season
and suffering a five-game losing streak,
Smith said they are still on the track.
"We went through a year of adversity
last year and they broke through it and
they were stronger and they worked to
gether," Smith said. "Now this is jpst a mo
ment where this is an opportunity and we
see it as such. We're going to make the
most of the opportunity.
"(The players) have absolutely not giv
en in to the adversity this season. They're
trying to do the right thing to put them
selves in a position to win."
Turn to STARTERS, page 9
Adam Amato Photo Editor
Jessica Shetters (43) is one of two freshmen starting for the Ducks.