Long Road Trip Begins With Top-20 Showdown in New York

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 1 ranked Oregon women's basketball team hits the road this week for the first time this season, kicking off a 10-day trip with a top-20 showdown against No. 17 Syracuse on Sunday at the Carrier Dome in New York.

Oregon is coming off a 3-0 opening week that featured blowout wins over Northeastern, Utah State and Texas Southern. Following their top-20 clash with Syracuse, the Ducks will continue on to the U.S. Virgin Islands, where they will play three games in three days as part of the Paradise Jam.

Game Details
Matchup: #1 Oregon (3-0) at #17 Syracuse (3-0)
Date: Sunday, November 24, 2019
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Venue: Carrier Dome
Tipoff: 1:00 p.m. PT

Broadcast Information
TV/Stream: ACC Network/WatchESPN
Play-by-Play: Jenn Hildreth
Analyst: Monica McNutt
Radio: Oregon Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Terry Jonz

Scouting Report: #17 Syracuse
No. 17 Syracuse is off to a 3-0 start in 2019-20 after going 25-9 and reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19. The Orange were knocked out of the postseason by South Dakota State, which went on to lose to the Ducks in the Sweet Sixteen. Syracuse boasts a balanced offense with four players averaging double-digit points through the first three games, and Emily Engstier is averaging a double-double (11.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG). As a team, the Orange are averaging 68.7 points per game on 39.0 percent shooting and own a +16.4 scoring margin.

Last Time Vs. The Orange
The Ducks and Orange faced off in an instant classic last season (Nov. 10, 2018) in Eugene, with then-No. 3 Oregon climbing back from down six with two minutes to play to defeat then-No. 18 Syracuse, 75-73. Sabrina Ionescu led Oregon with a game-high 26 points to go with 10 rebounds and six assists, and Ruthy Hebard overcame a quiet first half to post 11 points and 14 rebounds. Erin Boley finished with 13 points in her UO home debut, and both she and Ionescu hit big three-pointers late to give UO a 70-67 lead with 51 seconds left on the clock.

Hebard Dominating Early On
Ruthy Hebard has been unstoppable through the Ducks' first three games of the season, averaging 23.7 points and 13.3 rebounds per game while posting three straight double-doubles. Hebard poured in 31 points with 13 rebounds in last Saturday's win over Texas Southern, recording the third 30-point game of her career. The senior now owns 42 career double-doubles, the fifth-most in UO history and the most among active NCAA players. Hebard ranks 13th nationally in points per game, ninth in rebounds per game and fourth in field goal percentage (78.0, 32-of-41).

Ionescu Gets 19th Triple-Double
A game after she finished just one rebound shy, Sabrina Ionescu extended her NCAA all-time triple-doubles record last Saturday with the 19th of her career and first of her senior season. The reigning national player of the year racked up 10 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists - matching her best-ever assist total in a triple-double - while becoming the first collegian ever to have a triple-double in four different seasons. Through three games, Ionescu is averaging a triple-double with 12.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and an NCAA-leading 10.7 assists per game.

Graves Signs Nation's No. 1 Recruiting Class
Kelly Graves announced the signing of five elite student-athletes to National Letters of Intent on Monday, officially securing the nation's top-ranked 2020 recruiting class. All five of the Ducks' signees are regarded as five-star talents ranked the top 35 of ESPN's 2020 top 100, and all five are also rated as top 30 prospects by both Blue Star Basketball and ASGR Basketball. Oregon's group is ranked No. 1 in the nation by ESPN, giving the program its first-ever top-ranked recruiting class. The Ducks' five players in the ESPN top 35 are the most in the country, with no other team signing more than three.
» Angela Dugalic - Forward | 6'4" | Des Plaines, Ill. | ESPN: #24
» Te-Hina Paopao - Guard | 5'9" | Oceanside, Calif. | ESPN: #33
» Sydney Parrish - Guard | 6'2" | Fishers, Ind. | ESPN: #10
» Maddie Scherr - Guard | 5'11" | Florence, K.Y. | ESPN: #19
» Kylee Watson - Forward | 6'4" | Linwood, N.J. | ESPN: #15

Welcome Back, Satou!
Junior Satou Sabally was brilliant in a 25-point performance in Oregon's exhibition win over Team USA on Nov. 9, but then missed the Ducks' first three regular season games as she traveled overseas to play for the German Women's National Team in the FIBA women's Eurobasket 2021 qualifiers. Sabally posted 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists in a win over North Macedonia before going an astounding 21-of-21 from the free-throw line for 33 points while adding 10 rebounds in a narrow loss to Croatia.

More Milestones for Ionescu, Hebard
Oregon's star senior duo of Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard reached more impressive milestones in Oregon's Nov. 13 victory over Utah State. Ionescu became the fourth Duck in program history to eclipse 2,000 career points while finishing one rebound shy of another triple-double (16 P, 12 A, 9 R), and Hebard became the fourth UO player to surpass 1,000 career rebounds in a double-double performance (19 P, 15 R). Ionescu also eclipsed 800 career assists in the victory, becoming the first Duck and just the second Pac-12 women's player ever to reach that mark. Ionescu (2,022 P, 786 R) and Hebard (1,869 P, 1,022 R) are in a race to become the first active player in the nation to reach 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.

Role Players Stepping Up Early
The Ducks entered 2019-20 with arguably the most established starting five in the nation, but Oregon's role players have made a big impact through the season's first three games. Taylor Chavez, starting last week for the absent Satou Sabally, went 6-of-9 from three-point range for a career-high 25 points in Oregon's 109-52 win over Utah State, two days after Lydia Giomi scored a career-high 18 points with nine rebounds in the 2019-20 season opener. Freshman Jaz Shelley also impressed against Utah State with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting. As a team, Oregon has already had six different players combine for 12 double-figure scoring games.

Record Book & Milestone Watch
» Sabrina Ionescu needs only eight more assists to pass Jordin Canada (831, UCLA) as the all-time women's Pac-12 leader.
» Ionescu is just nine made three-pointers away from breaking the Oregon all-time record (283, Lexi Bando, 2014-18).
» Ionescu is 42 points away from passing UO legend Bev Smith (2,063, 1978-82) for No. 3 in Oregon history.
» With 40 in her career, Ionescu needs one more double-double to take sole possession of No. 6 in UO history.
» Ruthy Hebard is 16 blocked shots away from passing Cathrine Kraayeveld (132, 2000-05) for No. 7 in UO history.
» Hebard is 33 made field goals away from 800 for her career.
» Minyon Moore is 30 assists away from 500 for her career, and 21 steals away from 250.
» Erin Boley owns exactly 500 points as a Duck and needs 61 more to reach 800 in her collegiate career.
» Satou Sabally needs 17 more rebounds to reach 400 in her career, and seven steals to get to 100.

Up Next
After taking on No. 17 Syracuse, Oregon will head to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam, where the Ducks will take on Oklahoma State (Nov. 28), UT Arlington (Nov. 29) and No. 8 Louisville (Nov. 30).