Dylan's WNBA Dish: How are the Pro Ducks Doing at the Hiatus?

Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard, and Satou Sabally get a month off due to the WNBA All-Star break and the 2021 Summer Olympics.

Author:
Dylan Reubenking
Publish date:
Jul 14, 2021 10:31 AM EDT

Being a rookie in 2020 surely wasn't how Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard, and Satou Sabally imagined it would be — playing in the "wubble" in Bradenton, Fla. with no fans and a shortened 22-game season.

Now in their second year in the WNBA, the three former Ducks are enjoying a somewhat "normal" regular season, playing in front of fans at packed arenas. The 2021 season has reached its All-Star break, but the pause will be over a month long — from July 12 to August 11 due to the 2021 Summer Olympics.

I wrote last month about how Ionescu, Hebard, and Sabally were all adjusting to their roles in their sophomore campaigns, and they've each continued to do so. Each player has found success with their respective teams this season, and they've helped their teams get within striking distance of a playoff berth with a third of the regular season left to play.

Sabrina Ionescu - 9.9 PTS, 5.7 REB, 6.0 AST, 35.2% FG

Sabrina Ionescu has had an up and down year for the Liberty in her first full season in the WNBA.
© Richard Brian-USA TODAY Sports

Ionescu and the New York Liberty were the hottest team in the league in the first three weeks, winning five of their first six games. The former No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft was on pace for a historic season, putting up 17.8 points and 7.8 assists per game.

She was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week in the opening week as she dropped 25 points and a cold-blooded buzzer-beater in the season opener, and then became the youngest player in league history to record a triple-double (26 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds). Not too shabby.

Ionescu scored 107 total points in her first six games of the season, shooting 42.3% from the field and 48.6% from three.

In her 13 games since?

Only 82 points on 29.7% shooting and 29.1% from three, scoring in double figures just three times. The Liberty are just 4-9 in that stretch — in those 9 losses, Ionescu has averaged 3.9 points on 17.7% shooting.

The do-it-all guard missed two games in the middle of June with tendinitis in her left ankle — the same ankle that she badly sprained, ending her rookie season at just two and a half games. It's possible that the ankle has bothered Ionescu during her frustrating period over the last month.

With a month off to recalibrate, Ionescu will look to keep her team firmly in the postseason race. The Liberty are currently 10-11 and hold the sixth seed in the standings with 11 games remaining.

The Liberty resume play on Aug. 15 in Minnesota against the red-hot Lynx.

Satou Sabally - 12.4 PTS, 6.3 REB, 2.8 AST, 42.0% FG

Satou Sabally earned a spot on the All-Star team in her second season.
© Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

Sabally has had perhaps the best individual start to the season of the three Ducks, following up her All-Rookie Team selection last year by making the All-Star team in her second season. After missing the first few weeks due to international competition, Sabally has stepped right into the Dallas Wings' lineup and taken her game to the next level.

The second pick of the 2020 draft has scored at least 10 points in 11 of her 15 games so far. She has improved her field goal percentage and three-point percentage by a fair amount from last season as well.

Due to her impressive performance, Sabally was named a WNBA All-Star, becoming the first player to represent Oregon in the WNBA All-Star Game. She will compete with a team of All-Stars against the USA Basketball Women's National Team Wednesday at 4 p.m. PST on ESPN.

Sabally and the Wings enter the break with a record of 9-12 and on a three-game losing streak. The Wings sit at ninth in the standings and will continue their season on Aug. 15 against the Connecticut Sun.

Ruthy Hebard - 8.0 PTS, 5.7 REB, 1.0 AST, 56.3% FG

Ruthy Hebard has been a spark plug for the Chicago Sky in her sophomore season.
© Richard Brian-USA TODAY Sports

Hebard was the only Duck to experience the WNBA playoffs in the "wubble" last season, and she is well on her way to doing so again with the Chicago Sky, who are 10-10 and in fifth place in the standings at the break.

Due to Candace Parker's injury early in the season, Hebard stepped into the starting lineup and provided a punch on both ends of the floor for the Sky. Perhaps the highlight of her season was recording back-to-back double-doubles in the first week, dropping 18 points and 10 boards against Atlanta and then 15 points and 10 boards against Ionescu and the Liberty.

Hebard has three double-doubles to her name this season and has career highs all over the stat sheet, including points, rebounds, blocks, and minutes. She has improved more than her numbers say, shooting with more confidence from mid-range and at the free-throw line, and she has added some more go-to moves in the post to her arsenal as well.

The Sky return to the court on Aug. 15 against the reigning WNBA champion Seattle Storm in Chicago for the first of 12 games remaining in the regular season.

While the individual glory is nice, the three Pro Ducks each have a chance to help their teams reach the playoffs. Ionescu, Sabally, and Hebard didn't get a chance to compete for a title together at Oregon, and now they will battle each other for the few precious spots in the playoffs down the stretch.

Sabrina Ionescu - 9.9 PTS, 5.7 REB, 6.0 AST, 35.2% FG

Satou Sabally - 12.4 PTS, 6.3 REB, 2.8 AST, 42.0% FG

Ruthy Hebard - 8.0 PTS, 5.7 REB, 1.0 AST, 56.3% FG

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