From Losses to Bosses

Women’s Basketball Team Experiences Growing Pains: After a slew of injuries and losses last year, the team and its players are working harder than ever before.

By: Katherine Robinson

In recent years, the University of Oregon has become known as a football powerhouse, drawing national attention for dazzling the PAC 12 with its nearly unstoppable talent. Due to such tremendous success in the program, Eugene has become a town fixated on football. Cody Lamb, an employee at the local Oregon Sports retail store has worked there for six years, and in his time at the store has seen the explosion in popularity of football gear. Lamb explains how these sales can be a way to monitor fandom in Oregon, and highlights how in terms of merchandise, football eclipses every other sport, especially basketball. These statistics are telling, and cement the fact that in Eugene, football is definitely the main focus.

However, with the success experienced by the football team, there have also come many positive outcomes for all athletic programs at the University of Oregon. As Alex Huynh, a University of Oregon student and avid Ducks fan explains, “In the last decade or so, Oregon has become a sports school, with mostly football being the big sport. But because of that, all of our athletic programs are doing better and growing.” One of the teams doing some tremendous growing is the women’s basketball team.

This past weekend, The Daily Emerald reported on the women’s basketball team beating Arizona, and finding themselves in the midst of a three game winning streak.[1] News like this is always welcome for fans of the women’s basketball team, however, it is hardly expected. The 2012-2013 season was one of the hardest in a long time for the women’s basketball team. The women experienced an unprecedented amount of injuries, leaving them to rely on previously benched players and call for walk-ons to augment a team that at one point had only seven healthy players in total. Perhaps the most devastating injuries were to now redshirt sophomore guard Laura Stanulis, now senior guard Ariel Thomas, and now redshirt sophomore guard Lexi Petersen. Despite all attempts to pull together a healthy team, the season ended with the girls having won a total of four games, their overall record being an astounding 27-4.

For Petersen, who tore her ACL in the opening game, last season was a devastating one. Petersen had previously torn her ACL in high school, and had trained for nine months prior to arriving at the University of Oregon to get herself back on track after such a catastrophic injury. Because of her dramatic season ending injury in 2012, she qualified for a medical redshirt, and is now a redshirt sophomore. This is just one of the many incredible stories helping make this year a special experience for the women as they attempt to take back their team, their health, and their place in the conference.

For Jennie Leander, an academic advisor for the team, the 2012-2013 was on that made the women stronger. “I think a lot of the injury situations brought them together, closer together,” Leander states. “So I would say even though last year was a really tough year, I think it really has made them a stronger team this year.” Leander works with the women to set up class schedules, does major advising, and creates tutoring schedules. Her work with the women gives her a unique perspective on the players and their trials and tribulations. When recalling some of the leaders on the team who helped get the women through these tough times, she brings up Ariel Thomas, a player who like so many on the team, was, and still is plagued by injuries. However, despite being injured multiple times over this season and last, Thomas has maintained a leadership role in the team. Leander explains that her strength as a leader, even despite being injured, was one of the most valuable assets to the team as it attempted to rise above some tough losses.

Thanks to the leadership of Thomas, and the strength exhibited by all the players, the team has done some incredible healing, both physically and mentally since last season. This season, the women find themselves sitting at 12-8, a far cry from last year’s dismal numbers. After a promising start, and a seven game winning streak in December, new injuries brought back old memories of last year as the women fell in six straight at the beginning of winter term. However, five-year veteran coach Paul Westhead and his new assistant coach Shandrika Lee are set on learning from last year and keeping the women on the path to success. The coaching and training staff are working hard this year to help maintain healthy players with healthy attitudes. Thanks to outstanding leadership from players like Ariel Thomas and Lexi Petersen, this season is looking up, and fans of women’s basketball may soon be able to get used to seeing winning headlines in local publications like the Daily Emerald, as well as in national publications as the team continues to rise in its division. This incredible turnaround proves just how tenacious this team really is, and further reveals just how special this University and all of its programs are. Soon football’s supremacy in Eugene may be challenged.