Sabrina Ionescu to return to Oregon for her senior year

Oregon Ducks star Sabrina Ionescu has decided to return to Eugene for her senior season, she announced Saturday night.

Unfinished Business. https://t.co/hM5K2oJXFD

— Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i20) April 7, 2019

🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 https://t.co/jOi9P9tFy5

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 7, 2019

Ioenscu had 24 hours from the conclusion of her final game, which was around 6pm PST Friday night following her team’s 72-67 loss in the national semifinals to Baylor.  Ionescu had 18 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists in defeat.

Ionescu will return to an already talented Ducks roster that includes soon-to-be junior Satou Sabally as well as Sabally’s younger sister, Nyara, a talented 6’3″ incoming freshman forward, while post Ruthy Hebard also returns for her senior year.

Ionescu is the reigning all-time NCAA leader in career triple-doubles with 18, including men’s and women’s athletics.  She won the Wade Trophy and Lieberman Awards this year given to the nation’s most outstanding player, and is also a finalist for the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Awards.

Below is the full press release from University of Oregon:

 

EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon women’s basketball guard Sabrina Ionescu will return for her senior season in 2019-20.

The Wade Trophy winner for national player of the year was eligible to declare for the 2019 WNBA draft but has decided to finish her four-year career with the Ducks.

“I couldn’t be happier to announce that I’m coming back to the University of Oregon for the 2019-2020 basketball season” Ionescu wrote in a Players’ Tribune article.

Ionescu averaged 19.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game this season while shooting 44.3 percent from the floor, 42.9 percent from three and 88.3 percent at the line. She was the only player in the country to average 15+ points, 7+ rebounds and 7+ assists per game.

The Walnut Creek, Calif., native set an NCAA single-season record with eight triple-doubles this year, adding to her NCAA career record of 18. She matched her season-high with 31 points in the Ducks’ thrilling Elite Eight win over No. 1 seed Mississippi State as the Ducks advanced to the Final Four for the first time in program history.

Ionescu has amassed 1,984 points, 756 rebounds and 792 assists thus far in her collegiate career. She has a chance to become the first player in NCAA women’s basketball history to reach 2,000+ points, 1,000+ rebounds and 1,000+ assists.

Ionescu was named the Pac-12 player of the year and the Nancy Lieberman Award winner (nation’s top point guard) for the second straight season this year. She’s also been named a first team All-American by ESPNW, the Associated Press, the WBCA and the USBWA. She’s still in the running for the Wooden Award, which will be presented next week.

“We’re building something here in Eugene,” Ionescu added. “We’re building something — together — that’s going to last for a long time after we’ve all graduated.”

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