Before Caitlin Clark made a name in the women's basketball circuit, there was Sabrina Ionescu. As an Oregon Ducks player, Ionescu broke several records and won all the awards that Clark is currently being lauded for winning.
Yesterday, Sabrina Ionescu's showing at the WNBA STARRY 3-point Contest had social media raving over her mind-blowing shooting skills. One of her biggest fans was none other than Iowa Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark.
Clark shared the poster of Ionescu winning the contest on her Instagram story, accompanied by the caption, "sheeshhhh @sabrina_i."
Ionescu broke the WNBA and NBA record, scoring 37 points in the contest's final round in front of a hyped crowd in Las Vegas.
Chicago Sky star Allie Quigley held the previous WNBA record, while the NBA record-holder was Golden State Warriors shooter Stephen Curry with 31.
Watch Ionescu's incredible performance:
Afterward, Ionescu cheekily asked for a shootout against Steph Curry.
Ionescu defeated an A-list cast to capture the 3-point shooting crown. Some names she was up against included Sami Whitcomb of the Seattle Storm, Jackie Young of the Las Vegas Aces, DiJonai Carrington of the Connecticut Sun and Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings.
Currently, in the WNBA, Jackie Young is the most efficient 3-point shooter at 48.5%, but she couldn't hold a candle to Ionescu in the contest.
Sabrina Ionescu and Caitlin Clark's incredible college basketball legacies
Caitlin Clark became the face of women's college basketball with a dominant showing in the NCAA tournament, where she broke several records while leading Iowa to the championship game.
Clark now has the record for most points ever scored at the tournament with 191 and for most 3-pointers with 24. She also swept almost all of the individual awards on offer this year.
During her time as a player for Oregon, Sabrina Ionescu also broke quite a few records.
She is the NCAA record holder of triple-doubles registered and the only female college basketball player to have registered 2,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds. She's also the Pac-12 all-time assists record holder.
Ionescu also won a whole lot of individual awards. They include the Nancy Lieberman Award, which she won thrice, the John Wooden also thrice, and was the 2020 Naismith Player of the Year.
Sabrina Ionescu's background
Sabrina Ionescu was so determined to play basketball in middle school that she went on a recruitment drive to find enough girls to form a girls' team.
The administration at her school told her that she would be better served playing with dolls instead of basketball.
Ionescu graduated from Miramonte High School, California, having broken all of their records, and decided to join the University of Oregon to be their sole All-American.
She led the Ducks to their first-ever Final Four appearance, although they lost to eventual champions Baylor. Finally, Sabrina Ionescu was drafted first overall in the 2020 draft to the New York Liberty.
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