As her career at Oregon comes to a close soon, senior Danielle Love has brought something to the women’s basketball program that can’t be quantified or computed. Love has played with heart — a trait that has proved invaluable in head coach Paul Westhead’s system.
“She’s the one that does so many things that never show up in the stat sheet,” Westhead said before the team’s trip to Los Angeles last month. “The stats don’t say you had 40 outlet passes, 36 of them were very high caliber and three were mediocre. She’s a very, very important player in many subtle ways, but very important.”
Love is integral in running Westhead’s high-octane, high scoring and super speedy system.
“She means more than you can put into words,” senior Laura Stanulis said. “She’s a very hard-worker. There’s never a time in practice or a game when she slacks off. She gets the offense started with the outlets, so without her, the system wouldn’t be able to work at all. We wouldn’t be able to run and go. She’s a very smart person and a smart player.”
Commonly referred to as “D-Lo” by her teammates, she is humble, which is important in the way Oregon runs its offense.
“She always gives 100 percent,” Stanulis said. ”I don’t think she likes talking about her own accomplishments, but we definitely notice them.”
Love recorded a season-high and career-high 14 rebounds in Oregon’s Jan. 24 game against Washington State. “It was like a miracle,” she joked.
The Everett, Wash., native values the friendships and said this year’s squad is closer than ever.
“It’s seriously just a family,” Love said. “If you love something (basketball and the team) so much, you will do anything for it. You’ll push yourself through so much pain. You forget about how tired you are and really just do it because you love it and you love your teammates.”
Growing up in an athletic family helped pave the way for success. Her mother played competitive softball while she was growing up and her sister shared her love for basketball early on.
Love said that during her freshman year, former Duck Victoria Kenyon took Love under her wing, helping her improve on the little things. As a result, she’s passed on that advice, now acting as a mentor for Megan Carpenter and Jillian Alleyne.
She feels successful when she helps outlet the ball early in the possession.
“One of my favorite moments in the game is if I get the outlet out perfect and then it goes, one, three and Lexi (Petersen) is just flying down for the wide open layup with just two seconds left on the shot-clock,” Love said. “That’s when I feel like I’ve done my job. Not when I’m scoring or a defensive stop.”
With just three remaining games at Matthew Knight Arena this season, Love has begun reflecting on her time as a Duck.
“I just want people to remember me as a relentless hard-worker,” Love said. “I always try to do the little things because I feel like that’s how I can help impact the game the best.”
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne