WNBA All-Star Weekend Kicks Off in Historic Fashion

By Dorothy J. Gentry
Sports Editor
Photos: Charles “City” Gbadebo

Las Vegas, Nevada – Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty helped kick off the WNBA All-Star Weekend in history-making fashion.

Ionescu – recently named to the cover of video game NBA2K24’s “WNBA Edition,” made history en route to winning the 3-Point Contest. To the delight of the crowd – and her fellow WNBA colleagues – Ionescu hit 20 shots in a row and finished with 37 points or a record-setting performance in the contest’s championship round. It was a record for a WNBA or NBA contest.

“I was just focused on making one at a time. I wasn’t sure how many I’d miss but I knew it wasn’t a lot,” Ionescu told the media afterward. “I’m happy to have won this,

and thankful for the crowd, they were cheering me on the entire time.”

Also played on Friday was the Skills Challenges where four sets of All-Star teammates competed against one another in various basketball skills and contests. Aces teammates Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray defeated teammates Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot (Liberty); Allisha Gray and Cheyenne Parker (Atlanta Dream) and Arike Ogubowale and Satou Sabally of the Dallas Wings.

The 27th Annual WNBA All-Star festivities are taking place in the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas – home of the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces. The All-Star Game will take place Saturday (tonight) at 7:30 p.m. CST on ABC.

Ogunbowale and Sabally of the Dallas Wings are both All-Star starters in tonight’s game. Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty and A’ja Wilson of the Aces, and the reigning MVP, are team captains.