Local freshmen making impact for Portland, Oregon State women’s basketball teams
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — When you look down Oregon State and Portland’s rosters you will find four freshmen—two at OSU and two at UP—who are making an impact on their programs this year.
“It’s really cool that we’re all thriving and doing things that we’ve always dreamed of,” reflected Oregon State’s Donovyn Hunter.
Pilots players Rhyan Mogel and Lainey Spear have seen minutes off the bench this year. The same can be true for OSU’s Kennedie Shuler.
Meanwhile Hunter—a South Medford alum—was named to the Pac-12’s All-Freshmen team.
“It’s meant a lot,” said Hunter of her season, in which she has started every game except for the very first one. “Going in as a freshman, you have a lot of—not doubts—but you just don’t know how you’re going to do, even if you imagine all of these good things. I’m just grateful and extremely blessed that I’m able to grow confidence throughout the year and have such an amazing team by my side because the growth that I’ve made from the beginning of the year until now is creds to my teammates.”
For Mogel, a Clackamas alum, seeing everyone contribute has been inspiring.
“I think it’s really cool just for Oregon in general and the communities that brought each of us up. The class of ’23 coming up knew we had some talent, and I think it’s really cool to see so much of it stay home and have us be successful as well,” said Mogel. “I have a lot of respect for each player in the class. We all have relationships off the court, so it’s just fun to see.”
Shuler attended Barlow High, but these girls don’t just play for their high schools. They also play for AAU teams, where bonds are formed as well.
“My teammate Rhyan Mogel for the Portland Pilots, they won the WCC so I was super happy for her, and I’m super excited to see how they do in the tournament,” said Shuler of her Northwest Select teammate.
“She’s one of my good friends, and it was a lot of fun to play with her growing up,” adds Mogel. “Now both of us staying close to home, it’s really cool to just kind of have that experience together.”
This is just the beginning though for this class.
Spear, who played is excited to see what’s next.
“I think the expectation is that we’re going to be really good in the future, but obviously that comes with hard work,” said Spear. “We’re just going to keep working hard and hopefully meet those expectations.”
The Pilot women play Friday at 1:30 p.m. against Kansas State on ESPNEWS. The Beaver women play the same day at 5 p.m. against Eastern Washington. That game is on ESPNU.
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