The ultimate guide to Oregon senior Sabrina Ionescu chasing history

February 24, 2020 admin

Sabrina Ionescu, a 5-foot-11 guard, is the front-runner for national player of the year and the projected No. 1 pick in April’s WNBA draft. She is also a triple-double machine, and she just keeps adding to her NCAA career record for men and women. Her total sits at 25.

But her ultimate goal is guiding Oregon to its first national title.

We’re tracking the journey, the stat watch and the record countdown. We’ve got it all. Even how to pronounce her last name.

STATS | TRIPLE-DOUBLE TRACKER | HIGHLIGHTS | SCHEDULE

Do you remember your first women’s basketball game? Riley and Ryan Curry might be young, but if they can remember it, it was a performance for the ages.

Steph Curry brought his young daughters to see their first women’s basketball game Friday, and Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu got her 25th career triple-double — 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists — in a 93-61 victory over Cal.

Stephen Curry is in attendance at Berkeley to watch Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu take on the Cal Bears.

The Golden State Warriors star was on hand at Cal’s Haas Pavilion with daughters Riley and Ryan — along with many fans clad in Oregon green — to see Ionescu as she returned to play Friday near her hometown of Walnut Creek, California.

With her triple-double Friday, Ionescu moved closer to the 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound, 1,000-assist milestone that no Division I player ever has reached.

At 991 rebounds, she is now nine away. She could reach the milestone as early as Feb. 24, when Stanford hosts Oregon on Big Monday (ESPN2/ESPN App, 9 p.m. ET).

On Feb. 14, Ionescu became just the second player (male or female) in Division I history to tally 2,000 career points and 1,000 career assists. Courtney Vandersloot, a point guard for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, is the only other player to do it. Vandersloot played for Gonzaga from 2007-2011 for Oregon coach Kelly Graves.

Through Feb. 21, Ionescu currently sits at 2,446 points, 991 rebounds and 1,029 assists.

Sabrina Ionescu dribbles her way through a tough defensive scheme before finding an opening and making the and-1 lay-in.

Ionescu holds the NCAA record for men and women with 25 career triple-doubles.

Oregon is 25-0 in games in which Ionescu tallies a triple-double

12 occurred on a Sunday; 17 occurred in Eugene in home games

She scored at least 20 points in eight triple-doubles; scored 29 points twice

Most rebounds: 18; most assists: 14 (three times)

Triple-doubles by year: Senior (7), junior (8), sophomore (6), freshman (4)

Next-best NCAA mark: 12 triple-doubles, BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth

Her first triple-double, on Nov. 27, 2016, in her seventh college game, was Oregon’s first since 1988

Through Oregon’s win over Cal on Feb. 21, Ionescu is averaging 17.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game. Next up: at Stanford on Feb. 24.

On Jan. 26, Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among nine fatalities in a helicopter crash. Ionescu and her teammates learned of the tragedy less than an hour before Oregon’s game at Oregon State.

Moments after the final whistle, Ionescu dedicated the season to Bryant.

After a 66-57 win over rival Oregon State, Sabrina Ionescu says she’s dedicating the rest of her season to her “really close friend” Kobe Bryant.

“Everything I do, I do it for him,” Ionescu told ESPN during an on-court, television interview. “[He was a] really close friend. And this season’s for him.”

On Feb. 7, when she tallied her 24th triple-double, Ionescu was quick to connect it to Bryant, who wore No. 24 during the second half of his NBA career.

“Definitely a little bit more emotional for this one,” Ionescu said. “… But he’s sending me a text in a different way so I can hear him congratulating me and our team.”

Ionescu later tweeted: “#24 for you my guy!!! You will always have the best seat in the house.”

Kobe Bryant looks at Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu’s tape and how she operates in the pick and roll. Watch episodes of “Detail” exclusively on ESPN+.

Prior to the 2019 Women’s Final Four, Kobe Bryant broke down game tape of Ionescu and how she operates in the pick-and-roll. Watch episodes of “Detail” exclusively on ESPN+.

When coach Graves arrived in Eugene in 2014, the Ducks hadn’t had a winning season since the 2009-10 campaign. Then in 2015, Ionescu and the rest of this year’s senior class took the court. As the wins have piled up, so have the attendance figures.

Friends call her Sabs. But maybe that’s just because her last name is often mispronounced. We’re here to help: YO-ness-coo.

YO-NESS-COO. Say it with us. #GoDucks https://t.co/nQk7eFetZ9

Competitive with each other from an early age, twins Sabrina and Eddy Ionescu’s sibling rivalry hasn’t changed a bit over the years.

Nobody in college basketball has mastered the triple-double like Ionescu. Can she now lead the Ducks to an NCAA championship? Elizabeth Merrill

Steph Curry, daughters on hand for Ionescu’s 25th triple-double

WNBA mock draft: Ionescu projected at No. 1 overall

ESPN Daily podcast: Elizabeth Merrill and Mina Kimes on Ionescu

Re-ranking the top 25 players: Ionescu again leads way

Outside the Lines: Ionescu has unfinished business in her senior season

Ionescu cherishes 24th career triple-double

Oregon makes statement in handing UConn its worst loss at Gampel

Oregon’s Ionescu dedicates season to close friend Kobe Bryant