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Oregon Women’s Basketball: Sabrina Ionescu Does It All In Emotional Win at Stanford

By Justin Phillips

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 24: Sabrina Ionescu speaks during The Celebration of Life for Kobe & Gianna Bryant at Staples Center on February 24, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 24: Sabrina Ionescu speaks during The Celebration of Life for Kobe & Gianna Bryant at Staples Center on February 24, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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Monday was not a usual day for Oregon Women’s Basketball and Sabrina Ionescu. She said goodbye to her friend and mentor Kobe Bryant in the morning and led her team in a win over Stanford that night.

To call her Superwoman would not be much of an understatement. Her words at the Kobe Bryant Memorial were poignant. She missed her team’s shootaround, but the team took time out to watch her pulling laptops on opposite sides of the Maples Pavillion floor as they huddled around.

Ionescu did not come out for pregame warmups, and word was she was under the weather. When the game started, it did not show. Ionescu was there to go to work. To work on that unfinished business that was the storyline since the end of last season.

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Sabrina Ionescu netted her 26th career triple-double and paved her own way to a mark that she is the only one to touch. She finished the game and hit a career mark with 2000 points, 1000 rebounds and 1000 assists in not quite a four-year career with Oregon Women’s Basketball.

Oregon went down to the farm and took care of business. It was a 3 vs 4 matchup and Stanford at one point missed 14 straight shots in the game. The Ducks struggled toward the end of the first half but tightened things up in the second half.

The Ducks shot 48 percent from the floor and 35 percent from beyond the arc. One player who stepped up, aside from Ionecu, was Satou Sabally who finished with 27 points and 9 rebounds. Stanford decided to stop one player for the Ducks. Ruthy Hebard finished with just 4 points in the game, but it didn’t matter.

Oregon had an 11 point lead with just over a minute left in the game and took the 74-66 win. For the moment, Oregon and Stanford are tied for the Pac-12 Title. The Ducks can claim it for themselves with a win on Friday night.

It is the final two home games for several beloved Oregon Ducks including Ionescu, Hebard, and Satou Sabally who announced she was turning pro last week.