Ionescu unsure if she’ll turn pro after Oregon loss
Baylor uses their strength as Lauren Cox and Kalani Brown combine for 43 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Bears to a 72-67 win over the Ducks. (2:00)
TAMPA, Fla. — Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu, the projected No. 1 pick in ESPN’s latest WNBA mock draft, said she doesn’t know whether she will return to school or declare for the draft after the Ducks’ season ended in a 72-67 loss to Baylor in the Final Four.
Ionescu scored 18 points on 6-of-24 shooting in a tough night against one of the best defenses in the country, and she was scoreless in the decisive fourth quarter. Oregon as a team shot 1-of-13 in the final six minutes of the game.
Behind the post play of Lauren Cox and Kalani Brown, and the spark of unsung hero Chloe Jackson, Baylor has a shot at its third NCAA title.
Six players projected to be first-round picks in our third WNBA mock draft will play Friday in the Women’s Final Four. Sabrina Ionescu remains No. 1.
“I don’t think anyone wants to feel this way. I don’t think this locker room wants to feel this way again, so we’re going to use this moment to move on and learn from it,” Ionescu said.
When asked if that means she is coming back to the Ducks, she said, “I don’t know.”
“I have no idea,” she continued. “I haven’t thought about any of that yet. I’m going to get back and figure out what’s important to me and what I’m going to do.”
Ionescu learned at the start of the season that she is eligible to declare early for the WNBA draft, thanks to her December birthday.
With the draft set for April 10 and a 24-hour deadline to declare after your last game, Ionescu doesn’t have much time to decide.
The junior point guard, known as a triple threat thanks to her proclivity to notch triple-doubles, is a two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year and won the Wade Trophy, given by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association for national player of the year.
DiDi Richards and Juicy Landrum primarily guarded her, though Ionescu said they didn’t do anything different to take her out of her game. Ionescu was 3-of-13 on contested shots in the game.
“We just have to learn from the mistakes that we made, and I think a lot of positive is going to come out from watching that game, seeing what we could have done better and what we need to work on,” she said.