Ducks add size, speed with latest additions.

Byline: BOB RODMAN The Register-Guard

With an eye on the future - both near and distant - the Oregon women's basketball program signed two athletes to national letters of intent on Wednesday, the first day of the weeklong stretch of fall signing.

Jessie Shetters, a 6-foot-6 senior at Wilson High in Portland, and Ashley Allen, a 5-10 senior at Clovis West High in Fresno, Calif., are the first future Ducks to sign with second-year coach Bev Smith during the November signing time.

"They are special people," said Smith, who signed no athletes during the fall of her first year as the UO coach, "but it makes it even more special because they are my first November signings."

Meanwhile, Oregon State women's basketball officials in Corvallis said on Wednesday that the Beavers were not expected to sign any players to national letters of intent during the fall signing week.

Shetters opted for Oregon over Oregon State and Washington, and also had secured interest from UCLA, UC-Santa Barbara, Vanderbilt and North Carolina State. A two-year starter at Wilson, Shetters has career averages of 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

Shetters was an all-Portland Interscholastic League player last season, shooting 55 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line while helping lead Wilson to a conference championship with an 18-0 record.

"She's got the ability to handle the ball and can break full-court presses," Wilson coach Rick Earl said. "She's very mobile for someone her size and can shoot it from anywhere."

"Jessie is listed at 6-6," Smith said of the tallest player to wear a UO uniform since 6-7 Stefanie Kasperski in 1987-90, "but Jessie is more than a post player. She can play power forward because she is athletic and has versatility."

Said Shetters, "I like Oregon's style of play ... they bring the big people out on the perimeter. I can do that, and I have the ability to shoot the ball."

Shetters is the first prep player from Oregon signed by the Ducks since Shaquala Williams, the current senior point guard, opted for Oregon in the fall of 1997.

"I think that to keep her here (in the state) and have her here (at Oregon) is a statement about Oregon," said Smith, who led the Ducks to a 22-13 record in 2001-02 - the program's ninth straight winning season.

"We believe in Northwest and Oregon basketball players. We believe we can compete nationally with Oregon products. They believe in us. It's a win-win situation."

Allen is ranked as the No. 3 shooting guard on the West Coast by All-Star Girls Report, a national girls basketball scouting service publication based in Florida. Last season, as a junior, Allen helped lead Clovis West to a 25-3 record and a league title by averaging 13 points, six rebounds, six steals and two assists.

Former UO player Lindsey Dion (1998-01), now an assistant coach at Seattle Pacific, also was from Clovis West High.

Allen, a member of an AAU team that finished second in the nation last summer, shot 42 percent from the field and 72 percent from the free-throw line last season en route to all-sectional second-team honors.

"She takes it up in a crowd stronger than anyone else we've had," said Mark Weber, the Clovis West coach. "She's similar to Lindsey Dion - strong, physical and quick."

"Ashley has great athletic potential," Smith said. "She can play the two (off guard) and maybe the one (point guard), but most importantly, she fits into our system.

"She is the quintessential Duck ... the underdog who works hard, strives and never gives in. I think, for her, it's more like coming home to be a Duck than leaving home to be one."

Said Allen, who also was recruited by Oregon State, Colorado State and UNLV, "I've known Oregon was where I wanted to go for a long time."

The Ducks, who won the Women's National Invitation Tournament last season, are scheduled to graduate three seniors next spring. All three - Williams, Alissa Edwards and Kourtney Shreve - are guards.

The addition of Allen helps replace those departures, as will the arrival of guards Corrie Mizusawa and Chelsea Wagner, who are sitting out this season because of the NCAA transfer rule.

The addition of Shetters provides depth in the post and wing positions. Cathrine Kraayeveld, a 6-4 junior forward and the team's leading rebounder, will be in her final year next season.

"Jessie will have the opportunity to learn and play the four position (power forward) under one of the best in the nation," Smith said.

Oregon began the current recruiting season with four scholarships available but is likely to sign only one more player this month. A prep point guard is scheduled to make an official visit to Oregon this weekend.

The Ducks, an NCAA Tournament team in eight of the last nine seasons and a postseason participant nine straight years, open the regular season on Nov. 22 against Gonzaga at McArthur Court.

Oregon plays its final exhibition game on Friday against Southern Oregon at Mac Court, beginning at 7 p.m.