Sabrina Ionescu Sends Clear Message After Major Career Milestone
Sabrina Ionescu Sends Clear Message After Major Career Milestone originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The New York Liberty extended their historic winning streak to eight games on Thursday, knocking off the Washington Mystics with an 86-78 road victory.
Advertisement
But it was another individual milestone, tucked into the box score, that underscored just how lethal this squad has become.
Guard Sabrina Ionescu set a new franchise 3-point record with her 401st career made triple, simultaneously becoming the fastest player in league history to reach 400 made threes in just 151 games.
On Saturday, Ionescu marked the occasion on Instagram with a montage of Liberty highlights and the caption, "Franchise 3pt record… 401 and counting 🙌🏼 Staying steady, and counting my blessings. Vibes are undefeated with the squad🗽."
Ionescu's path to WNBA stardom began at the University of Oregon, where she was a two-time John R. Wooden Award and Wade Trophy winner, became the NCAA's all-time leader in triple-doubles and the Pac-12's all-time assist leader.
Advertisement
Selected first overall by New York in the 2020 draft, Ionescu quickly adapted to the professional game.
She earned All-Star and All-WNBA nods each of the past three seasons, won the WNBA Skills Challenge in 2022 and the WNBA 3-point Contest in 2023.
Ionescu then added Olympic gold to her resume at the Paris 2024 Games, starting for Team USA.
New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20).Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
As of Saturday, she is averaging 17.3 points, 5.0 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals on 39.3% shooting from the field, 33.3% from deep and 93.3% from the free-throw line, well on pace for her fourth consecutive All-Star appearance.
As the Liberty prepare for their next home contest on Tuesday against Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky, the focus now shifts to defending their WNBA title.
Advertisement
Related: Chicago Sky Coach Sends Message After Angel Reese Decision
Related: Indiana Fever Star Gets Technical Foul Against Mystics
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
5 minutes ago
- New York Times
Garrett Crochet wasn't at his best but still gave Red Sox enough in win over Yankees
NEW YORK — Even on a night when Garrett Crochet gave up a season high in runs, the Boston Red Sox's ace left-hander still gave his team a chance to win. In a maddening season for the Red Sox, the 25-year-old has been one of the main reasons to watch as his team has seesawed its way through 66 games. Saturday, Crochet struck out New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge three times, a feat only two other starters have managed this season. And though Crochet gave up five runs on six hits and a walk over six innings, he struck out nine as the Red Sox offense did its part in a 10-7 win. Nasty. — Red Sox (@RedSox) June 8, 2025 'He gave us what we needed — forget the line,' manager Alex Cora said. 'There were some plays defensively that we didn't make that put him in a bad spot. We needed six (innings), regardless. We'll take it.' Crochet's nine strikeouts gave him 110 on the season, the most in the majors. Only four other starters have as many as 100 punchouts. Advertisement The Red Sox took an early lead in the second inning when struggling rookie Kristian Campbell slapped an RBI single to right to give his team a 1-0 lead. But the Yankees retook the lead in the next half-inning, thanks in part to some shoddy defense. Crochet gave up a hard grounder to the right side that should have been Campbell's ball at second. But inexperienced first baseman Romy Gonzalez dove for the ball, leaving first base open, and Crochet didn't have time to cover the bag, allowing the runner to reach on an infield single. Crochet issued a walk, and then Austin Wells clubbed a three-run homer to put New York up 3-1. Two innings later, after the Red Sox had pushed ahead 8-3, another tough defensive play put Crochet in a bad spot. Campbell got caught flat-footed on a groundball he could have easily fielded, as he broke left instead of right. The ball shot into right field. Two batters later, Wells tagged Crochet again for a run-scoring double. A groundout added a fifth run to Crochet's line, pulling New York within 8-5. Entering Saturday, Crochet had allowed four runs twice in 13 starts, limiting opponents to two or fewer runs in his 11 other contests. 'Outside of three, four pitches, I felt like my line didn't reflect how I threw the ball tonight,' Crochet said. 'Felt good, got my feet wet in the first rivalry game I've been a part of.' Though it wasn't Crochet's cleanest line, his at-bats against Judge highlighted his night. In the first, he got Judge to strike out swinging on a 96.9 mph four-seamer. In the third, he pounded Judge with four-seamers before freezing him with a sweeper on the outside part of the plate. In the fifth, he got Judge for a third time, this time on an elevated four-seamer. Judge had struck out only three times in a game this season on four occasions before Saturday. Only two starters had managed a trio of strikeouts against Judge: the San Diego Padres' Dylan Cease and the Arizona Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen. Advertisement 'It felt good,' Crochet said. 'The time is going to come. I face him again next Friday (in Boston), I believe, so I've got to do it again. That's the great thing about this game. Just had his number today, that's all.' Too many times this season, the Red Sox have wasted a strong effort from Crochet, but the offense bailed him out Saturday. After Wells' three-run homer, the Red Sox responded with five runs of their own in the top of the third. Abraham Toro hit a bloop single to center with the bases loaded to pull within 3-2 before Trevor Story, in an awful stretch at the plate this season, hit a hard liner to left, driving in three runs for the 5-3 lead. Campbell added his second RBI of the night with a single to center to make it 6-3. Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in the fourth to make it 8-3 before New York pulled back within 8-5 in the bottom of the inning. Bad news for that baseball. 💥 — Red Sox (@RedSox) June 8, 2025 Reliever Justin Wilson made things interesting in the eighth, throwing 24 pitches, just nine for strikes, and walking two batters before a two-out, two-run double made it an 8-7 game. Wilson fell behind the dangerous Wells 2-0 but came back to strike him out on an elevated fastball with the tying run on second. Story capped a three-hit night with a two-run single in the ninth to give the Red Sox some breathing room before they closed it out. Story sends a pair home! — Red Sox (@RedSox) June 8, 2025 'It's always nice to see results,' Story said. 'I've felt much better about how I'm feeling in the box and the quality of the at-bat and the swings that I'm getting off.' The Red Sox need to find ways to win on the days Crochet isn't starting, but they'll take any wins they can come by at this point in the season.
Associated Press
8 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Merab Dvalishvili retains his 135-pound championship at UFC 316 with President Trump looking on
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Merab Dvalishvili retained his 135-pound championship when he tapped out Sean O'Malley in the third round in the main event of UFC 316 on Saturday night at the Prudential Center. Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing — though not aesthetically pleasing — unanimous decision last year over O'Malley. Dvalishvili had his number in the rematch in front of a packed crowd that included President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson. Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and bellowed toward the fans in the start of an exuberant celebration of his 13th straight MMA victory. 'I'm on top of the world!,' he said inside the cage. He was the only 135-pound champion on the card who won his bout. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison is now a UFC champion. Harrison tapped out 135-pound champion Julianna Peña with five seconds left in the second round to add another major championship in her fight career. No U.S. judoka — man or woman — had ever won an Olympic gold medal before Harrison beat Britain's Gemma Gibbons to win the women's 78-kilogram division at the 2012 London Olympics. She won gold again four years later at the Rio de Janeiro Games and made her MMA debut in 2018. The 34-year-old Harrison was a two-time $1 million prize champion in the Professional Fighters League lightweight championship division before she moved on to UFC last year. She won her first two UFC bouts and her record — now a sparkling 19-1 in MMA overall — coupled with her fame made her an instant contender for a title shot. She needed just three fights to become a champion. Harrison dropped to her knees in a teary celebration. She then called out Amanda Nunes, who retired in 2023 but said ahead of the fight she would return to the cage to fight the winner. It appears a title fight with Harrison looms in UFC. Harrison called out Nunes to enter the ring and after some encouragement from announcer Joe Rogan for security to open the cage door, she walked and the two went face-to-face. Nunes said she would indeed fight Harrison at some point for the 135-pound belt. The crowd went wild as the two engaged in a brief staredown. They had roared in delight hours earlier when Trump walked out to a thunderous standing ovation just ahead of the start of the UFC pay-per-view card. Trump was accompanied by UFC President Dana White and the pair headed to their cageside seats for UFC 316 to Kid Rock's 'American Bad Ass.' Harrison left the cage after the win and hugged Trump and posed for photos with the President and his entourage. It wasn't the only nod to Trump's latest appearance at a UFC fight. UFC fighter Kevin Holland choked out Vicente Luque to win the first fight with Trump in the building. He scaled the cage and shook hands with Trump. He briefly chatted with Trump and White before he returned for his post-fight interview. Joe Pyfer draped himself in the American flag after he defeated Kelvin Gastelum in a middleweight bout by unanimous decision. 'We've got the President of the United States! We've got Mike Tyson,' Pyfer bellowed inside the cage. ___ AP sports:
Washington Post
14 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Ronny Mauricio's long homer powers Mets past Rockies 8-1
DENVER — Ronny Maurico hit his first homer of the season, a 456-foot shot into the second deck, Francisco Lindor had three hits and two stolen bases, and the New York Mets rolled past the Colorado Rockies 8-1 on Saturday night. Jeff McNeil and Jared Young also homered and Brandon Nimmo and Luis Torrens each drove in two runs in a matchup of teams with the National League's best and worst records. New York, which is a season-high 17 games over .500 at 41-24, improved to 5-0 against Colorado this season. Clay Holmes (7-3) gave up nine hits in six innings, but just one earned run. He had six strikeouts and no walks. The loss dropped Colorado to 12-52, matching the 1932 Boston Red Sox for the worst 64-game start to an MLB season since 1901. Ryan McMahon hit a solo home run in the fourth inning for Colorado's lone run. It snapped a 22-game homer drought for McMahon, who has 131 with the Rockies to pass Matt Holliday for 11th on the franchise's career list. Germán Márquez (2-8) allowed eight hits and four earned runs in five innings for Colorado, which has scored just 10 runs in its five losses to New York this season. Maurico gave the Mets a 1-0 lead in the third with his homer, the longest hit by New York this season. Young's homer broke a 1-1 tie and kickstarted a two-run fifth for the Mets, who led the rest of the way. The Rockies' measly offensive output wasn't due to a lack of opportunities. Colorado went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position. Rookie RHP Chase Dollander (2-5, 6.26 ERA) will take the mound for Colorado against RHP Tylor Megill (4-4, 3.77) and the Mets on Sunday. — AP MLB:
