Lindsey Yamasaki says she
has something to prove against Oregon tonight

By Allison Ross
Oregon Daily Emerald

The decision looms like a thick fog. It can consume high school seniors and can rattle their parents. There are infinite options. Colleges are like horizons, they are everywhere.

Lindsey Yamasaki had choices. As USA Today's Player of the Year from the state of Oregon in 1998, she was recruited by schools all over the nation. Not only could she play basketball, but she was also a standout volleyball player. Colleges were eager to bring her on board.

During Yamasaki's senior year at Oregon City High School, the 6-foot-1 guard averaged 25 points and 11 rebounds per game. She had the option to stay close to home, as Oregon was one of the schools recruiting her.

But the Pacific-10 Conference's most dominant women's program was also recruiting Yamasaki. Stanford, which has won the conference title eight times over the last 12 years, including a current streak of four in a row, eventually added Yamasaki to its roster.

This season, Stanford (16-11 overall, 14-2 in the Pac-10) has not been the conference bully it has previously been. Although it is still mathematically capable of winning the championship, Stanford will likely finish third, behind UCLA and Oregon.

 Surprisingly, Yamasaki seems to have severed her Oregon roots with the move to California.

"I don't want Oregon to win the championship," Yamasaki said. "I want to prove to the people in my home state that I made the right decision. I'm more competitive knowing that they recruited me, but I felt like I was choosing the right program."

Yamasaki's starry career at Oregon City -- four consecutive 4A championships and four consecutive Three Rivers League championships along with a barrage of individual accolades -- is what brought colleges to Yamasaki's doorstep.

During her senior year, Yamasaki was named the 1998 Nike/WBCA All-American, 1998 Gatorade Regional and Oregon Player of the Year and was Sports Illustrated's Old Spice Athlete of the Month for March. All in all, Yamasaki earned 18 different awards during her tenure at Oregon City.

Even though Oregon lost its bid for Yamasaki, it has continued to have success under head coach Jody Runge.

The Ducks (23-4, 14-2) can clinch a share of the conference title with a win against Stanford tonight at Maples Pavilion, and win it outright with a victory over California on Saturday.

Despite the fact the Cardinal is having a down year by their standards -- Stanford has not lost four conference games since the 1986-87 season -- it is still a force strong enough to end the Ducks' nine-game winning streak and take away Oregon's hopes of playing host to the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Yamasaki will be a key factor in tonight's game because of her personal motivation, and also because she leads the Cardinal in scoring, averaging 14 points per game, and ranks second in rebounds with six a game.

Last week, during Stanford's 81-67 loss to Arizona at the McKale Center in Tucson, Yamasaki hit a conference-high eight three-pointers in nine attempts, finishing with a game-high 28 points.

Earlier this season, Oregon handed Yamasaki and the Cardinal their first conference loss, defeating the Cardinal, 63-59, at McArthur Court on Jan 4. The loss snapped Stanford's streak of 22 straight wins over the Ducks and was Runge's first win against the Cardinal.

"For me, personally, it puts more of a challenge and more pressure to win," Yamasaki said. "Having them beat us is not a good situation for me."

In that game, Oregon was without its star defensive player, senior guard Lisa Bowyer, but the Ducks' depth is part of what has made them so successful this season.