Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Ducks Beyond Athletics: Art Helps Maley Find Balance
01/31/18 | Women's Basketball
Freshman women's basketball player Anneli Maley discovered an interest in painting that contributes to a well-rounded experience at Oregon.
Author Samantha Little is a member of the UO acrobatics & tumbling team. "Ducks Beyond Athletics" is a series of feature stories about UO student-athletes and their interests outside of sports.
Oregon's win over Oregon State earlier this month – the Ducks' first Civil War victory since 2011 – featured a number of impressive individual performances. Freshman Satou Sabally led all players with 21 points, Sabrina Ionescu had a double-double with 15 points and 11 assists, Ruthy Hebard grabbed 10 rebounds and Mallory McGwire made 7-of-9 shots.
The impact of another freshman, Anneli Maley, was less prolific statistically, but no less important. The wing from Australia grabbed four rebounds, and also provided a jolt of energy at both ends of the court that helped the Ducks finish the first half on an 18-1 run, to take a commanding 40-18 lead into halftime.
This weekend, Maley and the Ducks take their first-place Pac-12 record (20-3, 9-1) into a home game against California on Friday (8 p.m., Pac-12 Network). One of seven players to appear in all 10 conference games so far for the Ducks, Maley has proven to be a valuable role player as a freshman – a future even she had a hard time envisioning for herself just a few short years ago.
During the onset of her senior year of high school, Maley, a native of Melbourne, Australia, did not see a future for herself playing basketball. "I thought I had quit basketball forever," she said. "And that's when I taught myself how to paint."
Painting allowed Maley to divert herself from overthinking her performance at sporting events, and instead channel her energy into art. After taking a year off from basketball, Maley in December 2016 was presented with the opportunity to play for Adelaide Lightning, a professional women's team in Australia. With her newfound love of painting as an outlet to express her feelings, she was able to reignite a passion for basketball that she once considered lost.
Art changed her entire outlook on the sport – art, and a new perspective on where the game might take her.
The idea of playing college basketball in the United States had always loomed in the back of Maley's mind. During her brief hiatus in high school, the University of Oregon never stopped calling to check in on her. "I felt like the staff cared about me as a person rather than just a talented player," she says. Putting a hold on professional ball, Maley decided to venture to the United States and play collegiately.
Maley not only wanted to play basketball, she also wanted to inspire other athletes by showing them the importance of finding and investing time in creative outlets. Prior to finding her passion in art, she was hesitant to take classes because she did not agree with strict guidelines. "That's one of the reasons I love to paint – because I can create something positive from my negative energy," Maley said. "There are no limits."
Maley wants other athletes to find mediums to channel their feelings, alleviating some of the pressures associated with college athletics.
Maley likes to use powerful female figures as her muse. The Egyptian goddess Nefertiti originally intrigued her, but Maley was troubled by one detail: In several representations of Nefertiti, she is painted with fair skin, and this outraged Maley. Since there are no boundaries with art, "I wanted to paint her as she is – a beautiful, darker-skinned, Egyptian woman," Maley said.
Maley often merges three to four images together to create elaborate paintings of faces. She sometimes paints with her fingers rather than brushes because it offers a more natural blend. She finishes off her paintings with metallic paint because it allows the painting to pop when the light hits it a certain way. In the future, Maley hopes to continue indulging her love for art, whether it's painting on a canvas or through graphic design and digital paintings.
Oregon's win over Oregon State earlier this month – the Ducks' first Civil War victory since 2011 – featured a number of impressive individual performances. Freshman Satou Sabally led all players with 21 points, Sabrina Ionescu had a double-double with 15 points and 11 assists, Ruthy Hebard grabbed 10 rebounds and Mallory McGwire made 7-of-9 shots.
The impact of another freshman, Anneli Maley, was less prolific statistically, but no less important. The wing from Australia grabbed four rebounds, and also provided a jolt of energy at both ends of the court that helped the Ducks finish the first half on an 18-1 run, to take a commanding 40-18 lead into halftime.
This weekend, Maley and the Ducks take their first-place Pac-12 record (20-3, 9-1) into a home game against California on Friday (8 p.m., Pac-12 Network). One of seven players to appear in all 10 conference games so far for the Ducks, Maley has proven to be a valuable role player as a freshman – a future even she had a hard time envisioning for herself just a few short years ago.
During the onset of her senior year of high school, Maley, a native of Melbourne, Australia, did not see a future for herself playing basketball. "I thought I had quit basketball forever," she said. "And that's when I taught myself how to paint."
Painting allowed Maley to divert herself from overthinking her performance at sporting events, and instead channel her energy into art. After taking a year off from basketball, Maley in December 2016 was presented with the opportunity to play for Adelaide Lightning, a professional women's team in Australia. With her newfound love of painting as an outlet to express her feelings, she was able to reignite a passion for basketball that she once considered lost.
Art changed her entire outlook on the sport – art, and a new perspective on where the game might take her.
The idea of playing college basketball in the United States had always loomed in the back of Maley's mind. During her brief hiatus in high school, the University of Oregon never stopped calling to check in on her. "I felt like the staff cared about me as a person rather than just a talented player," she says. Putting a hold on professional ball, Maley decided to venture to the United States and play collegiately.
Maley not only wanted to play basketball, she also wanted to inspire other athletes by showing them the importance of finding and investing time in creative outlets. Prior to finding her passion in art, she was hesitant to take classes because she did not agree with strict guidelines. "That's one of the reasons I love to paint – because I can create something positive from my negative energy," Maley said. "There are no limits."
Maley wants other athletes to find mediums to channel their feelings, alleviating some of the pressures associated with college athletics.
Maley likes to use powerful female figures as her muse. The Egyptian goddess Nefertiti originally intrigued her, but Maley was troubled by one detail: In several representations of Nefertiti, she is painted with fair skin, and this outraged Maley. Since there are no boundaries with art, "I wanted to paint her as she is – a beautiful, darker-skinned, Egyptian woman," Maley said.
Maley often merges three to four images together to create elaborate paintings of faces. She sometimes paints with her fingers rather than brushes because it offers a more natural blend. She finishes off her paintings with metallic paint because it allows the painting to pop when the light hits it a certain way. In the future, Maley hopes to continue indulging her love for art, whether it's painting on a canvas or through graphic design and digital paintings.
Players Mentioned
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