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Sabrina Ionescu Makes Special New York Liberty History on Thursday Night

She set one piece of franchise history and another piece of league history in the first quarter against the Mystics.

Blake Silverman

New York Liberty guard Ionescu smiles during a game against the Indiana Fever
New York Liberty guard Ionescu smiles during a game against the Indiana Fever / Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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As Sabrina Ionescu tried to help the New York Liberty stay undefeated in the regular season and win their second Commissioner's Cup game, she set a franchise record along the way.

She entered Thursday night's game against the Washington Mystics at 399 career three-pointers—one short of a milestone three that would also tie her for the most in Liberty history. Two minutes into the game, she made the 400th three-point field goal of her career, tying Crystal Robinson for the most in a Liberty uniform. Four minutes later, she broke the tie on a fast break off a dish from Natasha Cloud.

Here are both record-setting treys in order:

Robinson's record has stood for 20 years—she played for the Liberty from 1999 to '05. New York is one of just three original WNBA franchises (Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury) that remain active in their original location.

According to the team, Ionescu also became the fastest player in WNBA history to make 400 three-pointers. She reached the feat in her 151st career game, beating the record previously set by the league's all-time leading scorer Diana Taurasi by seven games.

Through seven games this season, Ionescu is averaging 17.9 points, 4.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game while shooting 35.7% from three on eight attempts each contest. Now, she can widen the gap as the Liberty's leading three-point shooter.

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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.

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