Sabrina Ionescu Stands Alone Atop College Basketball
Sabrina Ionescu made history Monday night, just hours after speaking at friend and mentor Kobe Bryant's memorial service. As her Oregon Ducks took on Stanford, Ionescu grabbed a rebound late in the third quarter to set a record.
With that rebound, Ionescu became the first player (male or female) in Division I college basketball history with 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds. It is a monumental achievement that will puts her among the best to ever play college basketball.
Here's the play that cinched the record:
HISTORY!! ??
— Oregon Women’s Basketball (@OregonWBB) February 25, 2020
Sabrina Ionescu is the first NCAA player EVER with 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds!!#GoDucks | @sabrina_i20 pic.twitter.com/TrJPrWLUW0
Amazing.
Earlier on Monday, Ionescu spoke at Kobe and Gianna Bryant's memorial service. She and Kobe had become close over the years as he mentored her. Her full remarks are below:
"I still text him even though he's not here. Thank you for everything, the rest is for you. Rest easy my guy."@sabrina_i20 pays tribute to Kobe and Gigi Bryant.pic.twitter.com/kRVaFDt7n7
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) February 24, 2020
Ionescu was wonderful in her speech. It was a beautiful tribute to two people who became friends. The she went out and scored 21 points, dished out 12 assists and grabbed 12 rebounds while leading Oregon to a 74-66 win over Stanford.
The fact that she clinched an all-time milestone just hours after honoring Bryant and his daughter makes this story even better.