Eugene, Oregon - The No. 4 Oregon Ducks (16-2, 6-1) defended Matt Knight Arena against a ferocious comeback effort from No. 7 Oregon State Beavers (16-3, 4-3).

The Ducks ultimately won Part One of the Civil War by a score of 76 to 64 and Sabrina Ionescu broke Gary Payton’s PAC-12 all-time assists record (938) on the first bucket of the game.

1ST HALF: Nine seconds into the first quarter, Sabrina Ionescu passed Ruthy Hebard the ball for a quick layup that opened the scoring, and more importantly, earned Ionescu the all-time PAC-12 record in assists, surpassing former record-holder Gary Payton. The Beavers proved they were ready to compete in the hostile confines of Matt Knight Arena by responding to Hebard’s early score with a 10-0 run led by Destiny Slocum and Taylor Jones. Ionescu finally ended Oregon’s scoring drought with a jumper and at the 3:13 mark the home team was able to catch up with their rival and tie the game at 14 apiece. Oregon’s big three outscored OSU 11 to 4 to close out the quarter with a seven-point lead.

The Ducks started to heat up in the second quarter, ultimately finishing the half with a 45-29 advantage. Ionescu did a fantastic job distributing the ball to open teammates, resulting in three first-half triples from Taylor Chavez. who has been making a strong case for a starting position in the near future. Not to be out-shined, Erin Boley nailed a three-pointer that gave the Ducks a 19-point lead with 2:53 left before halftime.

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2ND HALF: Mikayla Pivec scored a layup to kick off the second half but Ruthy Hebard and Minyon Moore combined efforts to build a 20-point lead. Leah Goodman did her best to keep the Beavers in striking distance by scoring nine in the third quarter and Jasmine Simmons also did her part by making a layup that cut the lead to 10 with 2:10 left in the third, but a Hebard and-one alongside triples from Ionescu and Jaz Shelley helped the Ducks enter the final frame with a healthy lead.

But to the Beavers’ credit, they were able to rally back late and cut the lead to just seven with under four-minutes remaining. Things seemed to be coming up Ducks early in the final quarter when Ionescu hit a shot from downtown, then assisted Hebard on a layup that gave the Ducks a 21-point lead, their largest of the night. However, Oregon State responded with a 16-2 run, highlighted by a Slocum triple that cut the lead to under double digits for the first time since 6:12 left in the second quarter.

Destiny Slocum had a Ionescu-esque crunch time performance, recording 12 of her 18 points in the fourth during a valiant comeback effort, but Satou Sabally was able to score Oregon’s final seven points to seal the 76-64 victory against their rival.

Part two of the Civil War takes play this Sunday at 2 PM at Gill Coliseum. Oregon’s big three are hoping to earn their first road win against the Beavers and the program’s first road win against their rival since 2010.

OREGON DUCKS

*Sabrina Ionescu (40 min): 4 REB - 9 AST - 1 STL - 3 TO - 3 PF - 10/15 FG - 3/4 3PT - 23 PTS

*Satou Sabally (39 min): 12 REB - 6 AST - 2 STL - 3 PF - 3/12 FG - 1/7 3PT - 10/11 FT - 17 PTS

*Ruthy Hebard (31 min): 9 REB - 2 AST - 3 STL - 2 PF - 8/15 FG - 1/2 FT - 17 PTS

*Erin Boley (29 min): 1 REB - 1 PF - 2/6 FG - 1/3 3PT - 5 PTS

*Minyon Moore (18 min): 3 REB - 1 AST - 1 STL - 2 PF - 1/6 FG - 0/1 3PT - 2 PTS

Taylor Chavez (26 min): 1 REB - 1 TO - 2 PF - 3/7 FG - 3/4 3PT - 9 PTS

Jaz Shelley (17 min): 2 TO - 1/2 FG - 1/2 3PT - 3 PTS

OREGON STATE STARTERS

* Taylor Jones: 3 REB - 1 AST - 2 BLK - 1 TO - 3 PF - 10/12 FG - 1/3 FT - 21 PTS

*Destiny Slocum: 5 REB - 4 AST - 1 TO - 2 PF - 6/13 FG - 4/6 3PT - 2/2 FT - 18 PTS

*Mikayla Pivec: 5 REB - 4 AST - 2 TO - 3 PF - 4/11 FG - 0/4 3PT - 0/2 FT - 8 PTS

*Kennedy Brown: 12 REB - 1 AST - 1 BLK - 1 STL - 1 TO - 2 PF

*Kat Tudor: 2 REB - 4 AST - 0/7 FG - 0/6 3PT

GO DUCKS!

NEXT UP: @ NO. 7 OREGON STATE

1/26, Sunday, 1 PM, ESPN2