New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu broke both the WNBA and NBA three-point shooting contest records Friday by scoring 37 points, and missing just two of 25 buckets to open All-Star weekend.
The third-year standout broke Allie Quigley’s 2022 record of 30 points, and surpassed the 31-point marks of two NBA players. Sami Whitcomb came in second place for the Seattle Storm, with 22 points, and the Dallas Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale scored 11 points.
Ionescu missed her first shot, and then reeled off 20 straight before missing her second bucket. With every make, the Las Vegas crowd cheered louder and louder. The competitive Ionescu said she could tell her shots were going in before the ball reached the net.
“There was adrenaline,” she said. “It was the final round. I had just lost in the Skills (Challenge), and I wasn’t going to lose again.”
Quigley’s wife Courtney Vandersloot is Ionescu’s teammate, and she advised her to practice shooting from the ball rack to get in the flow of the competition. The strategy worked.
“It’s different doing it from a rack,” Ionescu said. “It’s good to understand where I want the rack to be, and the rhythm of the shooting.”
Her shooting from behind the arc is at 44…
