When Sabrina Ionescu announced after last season’s Final Four that she would return to the University of Oregon for her senior season, fans of women’s college basketball got giddy.
That meant more neck-breaking assists, more silky three-pointers, more cold-blooded clutch moments and more viral highlights from the Ducks’ star in the 2019-20 season.
The 21-year-old Ionescu is one of the most electric players in all of basketball, the epitome of can’t-miss and must-watch. She’s a two-time Nancy Lieberman Award winner, a two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year, the winner of the Wooden and Wade awards, and already the NCAA’s all-time leader in career triple-doubles. And she’s a near-lock to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft.
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But before then, Ionescu has one more season to play at Oregon. Last year, the Ducks came up just short of winning it all, losing in the Final Four to eventual champion Baylor. This season, Ionescu and the Ducks have their sights set on New Orleans and getting back to the biggest stage in the sport.
All season long, we’ll be cataloging Ionescu’s best moments on this here “Sabrina Tracker.” We’ll keep you updated with her stats, her highlights, her records and her viral moments.
"She's a legend in her own right."
— AJ McCord (@AJ_McCord) April 4, 2019
Hey @sabrina_i20 - this one's for you & the rest of #GoDucks, from @StephenCurry30 as you chase and keep making history #WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/eZj39UMPwO
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Sabrina's senior season
Nov. 9, 2019: This doesn't count in the standings, but Ionescu led the Ducks to a historic upset of the U.S. women's national team, 93-86. Oregon became only the second college team to beat the national team, joining Tennessee in 1999. The guard scored 30 points on 10-for-20 shooting and added seven assists and four rebounds.
Nov. 13, 2019: Welcome to the 2,000-point club, Sabrina Ionescu. She became the fourth Duck in history to reach the plateau on a top-of-the-key 3 against Utah State. She finished with 16 points (6-of-13 shooting), 12 assists and nine rebounds in a 109-52 Oregon rout.
Also in the victory, Ionescu passed the 800-assists mark for her career, making her just the fifth player -- men or women -- in Pac-12 history to do so. Former Oregon State and NBA star Gary Payton holds the conference's assist record at 938. Ionescu doled out 311 assists last season, so it's absolutely possible for her to surpass "The Glove" in passing this season.
.@sabrina_i20 with a pair of dimes to @RuthyHebard24!
— Oregon Women’s Basketball (@OregonWBB) November 14, 2019
10 assists now for Ionescu to go with 9 points and 7 rebounds...#GoDucks pic.twitter.com/QxM7WEjCG3
Nov. 16, 2019: Ionescu extended her NCAA record for career triple-doubles in the Ducks' 99-63 win over Texas Southern, tallying 10 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists. It was the 19th of her career and the first of likely many more to come this season.
Dec. 8, 2019: The records keep falling. Ionescu reached two more milestones in the Ducks' dominating 95-56 win over South Dakota State: her 109th double-figure scoring game and 285th 3-pointer of her career, both Oregon program records. Ionescu finished with 12 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and a steal.
Give @sabrina_i20 10 points now for her 109th career double-figure scoring game, breaking the Oregon all-time record!
— Oregon Women’s Basketball (@OregonWBB) December 8, 2019
She has also broken the UO all-time three-pointer record with two so far today, giving her 285 for her career 🔥
Ducks lead 61-30. #GoDucks @Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/QvnGCxRx2A
Where we left off: 2018-19
Nov. 18, 2018: Ionescu connected on one shot from the floor as Oregon beat Buffalo 102-82 in Eugene. However, she hit nine free throws, dished out 10 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds, giving her the 12th triple-double of her career, which tied the NCAA record.
Dec. 2, 2018: Ionescu sets the Oregon single-game assists record, dishing out 17 in a win over Long Beach State.
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Dec. 20, 2018: About a month after tying the triple-double record, Ionescu broke it. In a dominant defensive effort from the Ducks, Oregon beat Air Force 82-36, and Ionescu dropped 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.
Jan. 12, 2019: In a blowout win over USC – in which the Ducks won 93-53 in Los Angeles – Ionescu notched seven assists, which pushed her past 608 for her career, giving her the ownership of Oregon’s career assists record. She also had 17 points, four steals and four rebounds in the game.
Sabrina Ionescu is a BUCKET.
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 25, 2019
18th career triple-double 😳
29 PTS
10 REBS
12 ASTS
3 STLS
(via @ncaawbb)pic.twitter.com/DSUshb42zi
March 31, 2019: After back-to-back trips to the Elite Eight, the Ducks finally got over the hump and made it to the Final Four, beating Mississippi State 88-84. Ionescu put up 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the floor and also had seven rebounds and eight assists in a 40-minute effort.
SABRINA IONESCU WITH THE 4-POINT PLAY! #WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/nf1VQD9HDF
— ESPN (@espn) April 5, 2019
Year | PPG | RPG | APG | Steals | FG% | FT% | 3pt% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
16-17 | 14.6 | 6.6 | 5.5 | 44 | .390 | .825 | .420 |
17-18 | 19.7 | 6.7 | 7.8 | 63 | .468 | .805 | .438 |
18-19 | 19.9 | 7.4 | 8.2 | 51 | .443 | .883 | .429 |
Totals | 1,984 | 756 | 792 | 158 | .438 | .836 | .430 |
What to expect this season
Ionescu enters her senior campaign with the chance to join an exclusive club.
So far, she has accumulated 1,984 points, 792 assists and 756 rebounds. The only player who has more than 2,000 points and 1,000 assists in their career is Gonzaga’s Courtney Vandersloot. Ionescu had 311 assists last season, so her joining Vandersloot is absolutely in play.
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Ionescu also has the chance to win a third Nancy Lieberman Award – given to the nation’s top point guard – which has only been done once, by UConn’s Sue Bird. Additionally, another Pac-12 Player of the Year award would put her in the company of Stanford’s Candice Wiggins as the only three-time winners.