Sabrina Ionescu is doing something women's basketball has never seen.
Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu plays basketball with the versatility of a Swiss army knife, and she’s doing it in a way the sport has never seen.
Ionescu closed out 2017 on Sunday with her eighth career triple-double, dropping 24 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists on her way to breaking the women's Division I record for career triple-doubles. It took her just 48 games with the Ducks to make history.
Sabrina Ionescu has broken the women's Division I record with her eighth career triple-double.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 31, 2017
The @OregonWBB sophomore has played fewer than half as many games as the previous record-holders. pic.twitter.com/zsjEj4Phy3
You might notice something pretty substantial in those numbers.
The former record-holders, Suzie McConnell of Penn State and Louella Tomlinson of Saint Mary’s, each racked up seven triple-doubles… in at least 125 games.
If you do a little math, you’ll realize Ionescu has recorded more triple-doubles than either of the former leaders while playing under 40 percent of their career games.
HIGHLIGHTS | Congratulations to @sabrina_i20 on breaking the NCAA record with her eighth career triple-double! #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/uK0QcTaNIL
— Oregon Women’s Basketball (@OregonWBB) December 31, 2017
Right now, Ionescu is averaging a triple-double every six games for her career. If she were to play 125 games for Oregon, at that pace, she would finish with 20 triple-doubles, nearly triple (!) any other player in women’s DI history.
And get this: last year, Ionescu tallied four triple-doubles, more than any other freshman in NCAA single-season history, in 33 games. She already has four this year in 14 games. That means she’s picking up speed, and her pace.
It’s only been four dozen games, but the Walnut Creek, Calif., native is already re-writing the history books, and she’s just getting started.
