Before Sabrina Ionescu was challenging Steph Curry to 3-point contests at the NBA All-Star Weekend, she was shooting lights out in the NCAA. The 2023 WNBA Three-Point Shootout champion played four seasons at Oregon before her time in the pros, accomplishing some impressive feats.
As Team USA women's basketball attempts to win a 10th gold, look back at Ionescu's time with Oregon. Here are five college facts you may not know about Ionescu:
- She is the NCAA all-time leader in career triple-doubles, with 26. She is the only NCAA player with 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds. Ionescu had eight triple-doubles in both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, setting a single-season record.
- In her senior season, she won Naismith Player of the Year, AP Player of the Year and U.S. Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year honors. Ionescu averaged 18 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists her senior year.
- Ionescu is the Pac-12 Tournament all-time leader in points (250), assists (86) and field goals made (90). She is a two-time Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player and two-time conference tourney champion, winning in her sophomore and senior seasons. Ionescu is also the Pac-12's women's and men's all-time assists leader after passing Gary Payton's record, which stood for multiple decades.
- Ionescu completed her bachelor's degree in only three years and was qualified to enter the WNBA Draft after her junior season, fresh off a Final Four experience. Instead, she decided to return to Eugene and began a master's degree in creating responsible brands.
- Ionescu significantly boosted fan engagement during her time at Oregon. The season before Ionescu arrived on campus, the average home attendance was below 2,000, which became over 10,000 in her senior season. Additionally, in her senior year, Ionescu was one of only a few female student-athletes to have their jerseys widely produced and distributed. Nike sold out of her jerseys within one day.
