The WNBA All-Star Game will take place on Saturday night in Las Vegas. But before that happens, the league took over Michelob Ultra Arena on Friday to hold its Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest.
Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty competed in both events, and while the first one did not go the way she wanted, she was able to bounce back in a big way in the second. Ionescu teamed up with Liberty teammate Courtney Vandersloot in the Skills Challenge, with the pair advancing to the finals to take on the duo of Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray of the Las Vegas Aces — the teams from the Dallas Wings and the Atlanta Dream were eliminated. Unfortunately for fans in the Big Apple, the 46-second run by Plum and Gray in the finals meant the hometown fans were happy.
The moment the Aces became the ’23 Skills Challenge Champs
#WNBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/SZEqstN94o
— ESPN (@espn) July 14, 2023
And then, the 3-Point Contest rolled around, which let Ionescu put on a show. She posted the second-best score in the first round, with her 26 points coming up a little short behind Sami Whitcomb of the Seattle Storm’s 28. Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings rounded things out with 21 points to move on to the finals.
As the lowest score in the first round, Ogunbowale went first in the finals, where she struggled and only scored 11 points. Then, Ionescu stepped up and put forth a historic final round, registering a ridiculous 37 points.
SABRINA IONESCU COULD NOT MISS
#WNBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/lEbXwvoTIp
— ESPN (@espn) July 14, 2023
Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i20) just set the all-time record for NBA or WNBA with a score of 37 PTS in the FINAL ROUND of the #Starry3PT Contest to be crowned the NEW 3-PT CHAMPION
| @starrylemonlime pic.twitter.com/YcGy3fDfBq
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 14, 2023
In all, Ionescu made all but two shots in the final round, and while Whitcomb put up a very respectable 24 points in her final outing, it was nowhere near enough.