Oregon Women’s Basketball: Syracuse Gives Ducks A Scare In Home Opener
The Oregon Ducks Women’s Basketball team lost a big lead against the Syracuse Orange on Saturday but used experience to win their home opener.
Ruthy Hebard returned to Eugene after a big win against Alaska Fairbanks last week. Head Coach Kelly Graves arranged the meeting of the two teams so Hebard could have a homecoming worthy of the player she is. Hebard is an Alaska native and not only did the Ducks win on the road, but they also dominated against a Division II team. Hebard had the first basket of the game that drew a standing ovation from the just over 1100 fans that were on hand to watch in Fairbanks.
On Saturday, the sleeves were rolled up and Oregon went to work on their first Top 20 matchup of the season. The first quarter saw the Ducks jump out to a 20-10 lead, but that did not scare Syracuse. The Orange kept their composure and late in the game had the lead with just over a minute left in the 4th Quarter. It was up to Oregon to answer and they came through with big free throws in the final minutes to keep it a two-score game, winning 75-73 over Syracuse.
Sabrina Ionescu led the way with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists scoring her second straight double-double. Ruthy Hebard and 11 points and 14 rebounds against Syracuse. She also had three blocks and a steal keying 18 points inside the paint for Oregon. The Ducks scored 13 points off 15 Syracuse turnovers.
The Syracuse Defense came into Matthew Knight Arena and was as good as advertised, but in the end, Oregon came off as the more experienced team. Credit the road team for giving one-hundred percent effort and almost taking a game from Oregon at home.
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Oregon visits Utah State Wednesday for a 6 pm Pacific Time tipoff.