May 19, 2021
ALERT: Sabrina Ionescu notches a triple-double
Liberty guard makes franchise history in New York's win
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NEW YORK — It was a night of firsts for the New York Liberty, particularly star guard Sabrina Ionescu.
Ionescu tallied the first triple-double of her career, with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, in an 86-75 win over the Minnesota Lynx.
“Obviously, getting a triple-double in a win is important,” Ionescu said following the game. “If I’d gotten it in a loss, it wouldn’t mean anything… but it’s definitely pretty cool.”
The win moved New York to 3-0, its first 3-0 start since 2007. And Ionescu cared more about the win, of course, but a feat she so often reached in college — she is the record-holder for triple-doubles — came more quickly for her than any previous player in WNBA history. It is also the first triple-double in New York Liberty history.
“She’s always amazing, she always comes out with a level head… so to me, it’s not really a surprise that she gets it this early,” her teammate Kylee Shook said of the statistical benchmark following the game.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the next earliest player to earn a triple-double was Sheryl Swoopes, who did it in her 59th career game on July 27, 1999.
Ionescu did it in Game 6 of her career.
The most recent triple-double prior to this came from Chelsea Gray on July 7, 2019. Just nine players in WNBA regular season history have ever logged one triple-double. No WNBA player has ever reached two triple-doubles.
It would appear that standard is in jeopardy.
