At the half, the Ducks looked like they might be in trouble. Heading into the third quarter Oregon had only a one point lead on Syracuse.
Syracuse couldn’t hold on for long as the Ducks broke away with 31 points in the third quarter, securing a win, 81-64, on Sunday at the Carrier Dome.
Oregon started the game off with a 6-0 lead, but Syracuse fought back and took a lead,12-11. Satou Sabally scored some crucial points late in the first quarter, tying it up. Sabally scored 12 of the Ducks’ 15 points in the first quarter.
Sabally scored a game-high 23 points in her first official game of the season, after playing overseas for the German women’s national team for the past few weeks. Sabally was one of four players to score in the double digits for Oregon on Sunday.
The second quarter remained close but Syracuse started it off with a nine point lead after hitting three straight triples. The Ducks were trailing 29-23 when Sabrina Ionescu scored four straight points for the Ducks and Erin Boley added a jumper in the paint to tie the game. Sabally contributed two free throws, pulling Oregon into the lead 31-29.
Neither team scored for nearly two minutes before Syracuse made a free throw, pulling the score to 31-30 at half.
The third quarter remained close at 38-38 at the 5:53 mark in the third quarter.
Some quick points by Boley and Ruthy Hebard pulled the Ducks ahead as they went on a 22-6 scoring run, finishing the third quarter with a 16-point lead.
The Ducks matched their point total from the entire first half in the third quarter alone, heading into the fourth quarter with a sizeable lead.
Oregon finished the final quarter strong, holding Syracuse to 10 points over the final five minutes as they pulled through with a top-20 victory in their first road game of the season.
After recording six assists on Sunday, Ionescu only needs two more to break the Pac-12 women’s all-time record of 831 held by Jordin Canada of UCLA.
The Ducks will continue their road trip, heading to the U.S. Virgin Islands where they will take on Oklahoma State, UT Arlington and Louisville in the Paradise Jam.
