Ionescu sets NCAA mark for triple-doubles in Oregon's win

[Carnac]

She's only a sophomore. Records are made to be broken, we got that. If this keeps up, by the time she leaves for the W, she may put this record so far out there, no one will ever break it. Keep in mind that McConnell and Tomlinson garnered their portion of the record over a 4 year period.

Ionescu set an NCAA record with her eighth career triple-double to lead No. 10 Oregon to a 94-83 victory over Washington on Sunday.

She had 24 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists to help the Ducks (13-2, 2-0 Pac-12) to their fifth consecutive win. She broke the mark in her 48th career game with an assist on Lexi Bando's 3-pointer with 1:47 to play.

"It's pretty surreal to be honest," Ionescu said. "I don't think I've really realized that I just broke it, but I'm just happy that we won and got better."

Penn State's Suzie McConnell (1984-1988) and Louella Tomlinson of Saint Mary's (2007-2011) shared the mark with Ionescu until Sunday. It was Ionescu's fourth triple-double in 15 games this season.

[Story]

 

[DefenseBB]

If Oregon keeps climbing in the polls, SI (Sabrina) will be 1st team AA and a real contender for Player of the Year.

 

[jonson]

If Oregon keeps climbing in the polls, SI (Sabrina) will be 1st team AA and a real contender for Player of the Year.

The irony here is that one could easily view this as an "off" game for Ionescu. She had more turnovers (6) than in the past 3 games combined and didn't shoot particularly well for much of the game. She did, however, rebound even better than she normally does, and that's saying a lot. And whatever her particular stats on a given day, one could certainly argue that game after game she does more good things for her team than any other current player.

 

[bags27]

Best I've seen since Maya. But plays more like D and someday may be as good. (I don't mean to exclude Stewie, but a different kind of player).

OTOH, I'm a complete Meg fan-boy. I think if Meg got the minutes, she'd be FOY. She's not Sabrina, but not much less gifted. Once it's "her" team, Meg will be draw-droppingly good.

 

[cohenzone]

After seeing Ionescu in an all star game, she just looked better than anyone else.

 

[augustaTC]

Ionescu is so special (I know, master of the obvious). Plays so hard, so many skills, team player, great interview. Man, wish I could see more of their games.

 

[HoopsFan21]

I didn't even know they had teams on the west coast. Are they ever shown on TV?

 

[stamfordhusky]

Penn State's Suzie McConnell (1984-1988) and Louella Tomlinson of Saint Mary's (2007-2011) shared the mark with Ionescu until Sunday. It was Ionescu's fourth triple-double in 15 games this season.

It's amazing that McConnell held a record for triple doubles. She was a 5-4 PG who held all the NCAA records for assists when she graduated. Impressive that she had a number of double figure rebound games as well.

 

[connie]

Best I've seen since Maya. But plays more like D and someday may be as good. (I don't mean to exclude Stewie, but a different kind of player).

OTOH, I'm a complete Meg fan-boy. I think if Meg got the minutes, she'd be FOY. She's not Sabrina, but not much less gifted. Once it's "her" team, Meg will be draw-droppingly good.

Part of the fun of this season is watching Ionescu meet and now exceed expectations. She is already arguably among the top 10 players in the country. And now the all-time NCAAWB record holder in career triple-doubles.

15 games into her sophomore year.

 

[LoTrader]

I didn't even know they had teams on the west coast. Are they ever shown on TV?

Games are only shown on the west coast. The TV signal won't transmit beyond the Rockies.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I'd put the over/under on Sabrina's career triple-double tally at about 30 if she stays healthy. Considering that's more than 3x the old record, it's phenomenal.

 

[Carnac]

Ionescu is so special (I know, master of the obvious). Plays so hard, so many skills, team player, great interview. Man, wish I could see more of their games.

She is special. She was NOT your typical freshman. Coaches across the country saw greatness in her in high school. She was highly recruited by most of the major programs. She is a no nonsense young lady who is focused on winning, getting better and making those around her better. She is wise and mature far beyond her years. One of those players that only come along once every 20 years. She has that "command" presence. She was a starter and the floor general from day one. She was running things on the floor for the Ducks. Everyone, even the older players listened to her and followed her instructions.

She's nobody's fool. Take a moment to read an article written by Walter Villa for USA Today in March 2016. It will give you a better understanding of just who Sabrina Ionescu is. You'll see and understand why she was not your typical 18 year old recruit.

In the article she said: “My relationship with the coaches at Texas weren’t at the level they should have been,” said Ionescu, who is averaging 26.5 points this season. “And I don’t think the relationship would’ve been built up by the time I needed to decide. I don’t think they would’ve been the best option for me.”

Why Sabrina Ionescu is the last uncommitted top 25 girls basketball recruit.

 

[oldude]

She is special. She's NOT your typical freshman .

Is that because she’s a sophomore?

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

 

[Carnac]

Is that because she’s a sophomore?

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Thanks for pointing out my faux pas, it's been corrected.

 

[MSGRET]

Not to take anything away from her, but if Stewie had played 4 quarters every game like she does most of the time you wouldn't be even talking about it. Stewie almost had a triple double every game and

 

[oldude]

Not to take anything away from her, but if Stewie had played 4 quarters every game like she does most of the time you wouldn't be even talking about it. Stewie almost had a triple double every game and

Stewie was certainly great, but other than points and rebounds, I’m not sure where the 3rd double was going to come from?

 

[MSGRET]

Stewie was certainly great, but other than points and rebounds, I’m not sure where the 3rd double was going to come from?

She also had a high number of assists, or even blocks. On one of Geno's shows in Stewie's senior year he stated that she almost has a triple double every time.

 

[oldude]

She also had a high number of assists, or even blocks. On one of Geno's shows in Stewie's senior year he stated that she almost has a triple double every time.

No doubt Stewie could fill up a stat sheet, but I don’t ever remember her getting 10 assists in a game, which Mo did on numerous occasions, and getting 10 blocks in one game is very difficult. Although one of the handful of triple doubles in UConn history was achieved by Kiah Stokes, whose triple double included points, rebounds and blocks.

 

[stamfordhusky]

No doubt Stewie could fill up a stat sheet, but I don’t ever remember her getting 10 assists in a game, which Mo did on numerous occasions, and getting 10 blocks in one game is very difficult.

Stewart had 10 assists once - in her homecoming game at Colgate. Her career high in blocks was nine. Career high in assists was eight.

 

[MSGRET]

Stewart had 10 assists once - in her homecoming game at Colgate. Her career high in blocks was nine. Career high in assists was eight.

Just think what she would have done against the AAC if she played almost 40 minutes like most players with her caliber.

 

[willtalk]

One thing mentioned on this site is that if Lou played the minutes that Sabrina plays she would be putting up a lot of triple doubles. Well what is forgotten is that when you play more minutes you get really tired. Most players who play a lot of minutes tend to pace themselves cutting back on their level of intensity during games. Sabrina is an " Energizer Bunny " she never seems to pace herself. She has one level of play period. If is less her playing so many minutes in games, but rather her constant effort when she is playing that is responsible for her triple doubles. I watched both of them in high school. I saw Lou during games when her team depended on her. She is capable of cranking it up when necessary, but I do not believe she is capable of playing at and sustaining the pace Sabrina does through out the entire game. Increased playing time would result in less efficiency while on the floor. Most players need rest to maintain effectiveness. Sabrina is a freak in this respect.

I personally am not a fan of a team that focuses their offense too much around one player. Players, no matter how good, will have off games and when that happens those teams are sunk. That is what happened to Oregon St at the end of last season when Weise went cold. She was 1-11 on three's in their last game and that was a pattern that was carried over from their last conference playoff game. They did have enough offensive firepower on their team that they didn't need to rely on Weise but their offense never took advantage of it. Oregon has an amazing amount of depth and as more of their freshman become integrated you will see less dominance and triple doubles by Sabrina.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Stewart had 10 assists once - in her homecoming game at Colgate. Her career high in blocks was nine. Career high in assists was eight.

Can you explain your first and third sentences to me? They seem contradictory.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Can you explain your first and third sentences to me? They seem contradictory.

Yes, they are very contradictory. Typed faster than I thought. It should have said her max number of STEALS in a game was eight.

 

[nwhoopfan]

It's kind of predictable, if a non-UConn player accomplishes something major, somebody on this forum has to chime in w/ "well a UConn player could've done that too if they just played more minutes." Oh well.

 

[Plebe]

It's kind of predictable, if a non-UConn player accomplishes something major, somebody on this forum has to chime in w/ "well a UConn player could've done that too if they just played more minutes." Oh well.

Yes, and also: "Well that's nice but I still wouldn't trade [insert name of UConn player] for her."

Best to just come to terms. It is a UConn board after all

 

[MilfordHusky]

Yes, they are very contradictory. Typed faster than I thought. It should have said her max number of STEALS in a game was eight.

Thanks!

 

[MilfordHusky]

Oregon is playing well, Sabrina was shooting 50% from distance before yesterday, and she is getting a lot of press for the triple-doubles. Look for her to be on the WBCA All-American 1st team if she continues her level of play.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Speaking of trades . . .

I wouldn't trade Lou for her in a million years. I also wouldn't trade Crystal for her.

Why is a point guard getting double figures in rebounding? Doesn't that indicate a shortcoming with the forwards?

Could Ionescu guard Crystal? Color me skeptical.

Don't get me wrong: I really wanted Ionescu at Uconn. But I'm not prepared to give her Superwoman status

 

[Plebe]

Okay I looked into this claim that Stewie would've triple-doubled as often as Sabrina if only she'd played as many minutes. The verdict: No.

First of all, there's only a very small discrepancy in the number of minutes they played: only a difference of about 3.5 minutes per game (ignoring Stewie's freshman year, when her minutes were very up and down).

Even if we calculate their stats on the basis of "per minute played," Ionescu has been averaging significantly more assists per minute than Stewie averaged in assists or blocks per minute. Here's a comparison of Ionescu's current season to Stewie's senior season (statistically her strongest for the categories in question):

Ionescu in 2017-2018: averaging 8.1 assists per game in 32.7 minutes per game = 0.25 assists per minute played.
Stewie in 2015-2016: averaged 4.0 assists and 3.4 blocks per game in 29.1 minutes per game = 0.14 assists and 0.12 blocks per minute played.

 

[Shades]

Why is a point guard getting double figures in rebounding? Doesn't that indicate a shortcoming with the forwards?

I'm not the Oregon expert, but I'm not sure Ionescu is the actual point guard. She just seems like it because she gets all those assists. I believe Carzola is the PG, but maybe it really doesn't matter who gets what label.

Could Ionescu guard Crystal? Color me skeptical.

Probably wouldn't be wise to guard Ionescu with Dangerfield. Shoot right over her at the three point line. Ionescu is 5'11.

Don't get me wrong: I really wanted Ionescu at Uconn. But I'm not prepared to give her Superwoman status

She may not be Superwoman, but what do you call a player who owns the career triple doubles record halfway through her sophomore year?

Unless some post player really steps up and and establishes herself in the next couple of years, Ionescu is my early call for the #1 draft pick in 2020.