Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty set WNBA and NBA records for most points in a 3-point shooting challenge in the last round of Friday’s competition, which started off the 2023 WNBA All-Star weekend.
Ionescu’s 37 points out of a possible 40 break the single-round NBA record of 31 (set by Stephen Curry in 2021 and Tyrese Haliburton in 2023) and the WNBA record of 30 (set by Allie Quigley in 2022).
Sami Whitcomb of the Seattle Storm finished second in the final with 22 points, followed by Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings with 11. DiJonai Carrington (18 of the Connecticut Sun), Kelsey Mitchell (15 of the Indiana Fever), and Jackie Young (15 of the Las Vegas Aces) were all ousted in the first round.
Ionescu’s jaw-dropping onslaught, which included 20 consecutive makes at one point, awed the generally pro-Aces crowd, Liberty owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai, a contingent of 30 family members in the stands, and her league peers, including four-time 3-point contest winner Quigley, who is taking the season off and tweeted her amazement.
“UNBELIEVABLE!!! “This record will never be broken,” wrote Quigley.
Curry also turned to Twitter to praise Ionescu’s incredible shooting performance, tweeting, “RIDICULOUS!”
Liberty teammate Courtney Vandersloot, Quigley’s wife, encouraged Ionescu to practise shooting from a rack before the tournament, advice that paid off. Even in regular-season action, Ionescu’s 54 three-pointers are second in the league, and her 44.6% clip is fourth. Ionescu has never shot better than 33.3% from outside the arc in a whole season prior to this year.
“Yeah, I knew they were going in,” Ionescu said of the effort, which set an NBA and WNBA record for consecutive 3-point conversions. “Adrenaline is present. It was the last round. I’d just lost the Skills [Challenge], and I wasn’t about to lose again.”
The former Oregon standout, who is also the college leader in triple-doubles, said she’ll submit the game footage to Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello so she can run some more 3-point plays for her resume.
“I’ve worked hard to be able to shoot as well as I have from the 3-point line,” Ionescu said. “This one’s pretty rewarding.”
The Aces’ Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Grey won the Skills Challenge on Friday, defeating the Liberty team of Ionescu and Vandersloot in the final.
This summer was the first time the league adopted a system in which colleagues teamed together to compete for a reward.
“It had a vibe, and it was fun,” Grey added. “The energy was great.”
The 2023 WNBA All-Star Game will air on ABC on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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