Sabrina Ionescu scores record 37 points to win WNBA 3-point contest - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — The New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu broke WNBA and NBA records for most points in a 3-point shooting contest by hitting all but two of her treys in the final round of Friday's competition, which kicked off 2023 WNBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas.

Ionescu's 37 out of a possible 40 points surpass the single-round record of 31 in the NBA (done by Stephen Curry in 2021 and Tyrese Haliburton in 2023) and 30 in the WNBA (Allie Quigley in 2022).

Also in the final, the Seattle Storm's Sami Whitcomb came in second with 22 points, followed by the Dallas Wings' Arike Ogunbowale with 11. The Connecticut Sun's DiJonai Carrington (18), Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell (15) and Las Vegas Aces' Jackie Young (15) were all eliminated in the first round.

Ionescu's jaw-dropping onslaught, which featured 20 consecutive makes at one point, evoked awe from the generally pro-Aces crowd, Liberty owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai fans, a contingent of 30 family members in the stands and her peers in the league, including four-time 3-point contest winner Allie Quigley, who is taking this season off of the WNBA.

Ionescu's 20 consecutive makes set a record across the NBA and WNBA 3-point competitions.

«Yeah, I knew they were going in,» Ionescu said of the performance. «There's adrenaline. It was the final round. I had just lost in the Skills [Challenge] and I wasn't going to lose again.»

Liberty teammate Courtney Vandersloot, Quigley's wife, advised Ionescu to practice shooting from a rack heading into the competition, guidance Ionescu took and that paid dividends. But even in regular season play, Ionescu's 54 treys are second for any player in the league, while her 44.6% clip is fourth-best. Prior to this year, Ionescu hadn't shot better