Minneapolis — Sabrina Ionescu Focuses on Resilience
Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu is clear: she doesn’t want your sympathy.
In fact, she doesn’t feel that way at all.
Ionescu has always been someone who tackles challenges head-on. It’s almost like a part of her DNA. “I’ve always been the person that’s found a way through difficulties and hard times,” she shared before a recent win over the Lynx.
And this season has certainly tested that resilience. This year has probably been one of the toughest for her. She kicked things off missing the first two weeks due to an injury to her left foot, and then a back issue kept her sidelined even longer.
She’s been out for 13 games in total, struggling to find her rhythm. With her back still bothering her, Ionescu’s averaging only 15.1 points—her second-lowest scoring average. Plus, she’s shooting under 30% from three-point range for the second year in a row.
It’s been a rough patch. She didn’t get picked for the USA Basketball FIBA World Cup roster and entered the break amid a slump, having missed all 10 of her attempts in her last game before the international competition.
However, as the season winds down and the playoffs approach, Ionescu is viewing this period as an opportunity. She sees it as a chance to finish strong. “I don’t want to go into an offseason just thinking like, ‘Yeah, it sucks because I was hurt,’” she remarked. “I think more knowing that there’s an opportunity to kind of rewrite this year for myself personally.”
Ionescu hesitated to compare her current struggles with the difficulties she faced in her earlier seasons. “Nothing tops” what she went through in those first two years, she noted.
Back then, she faced a season-ending ankle sprain just four games into her rookie season, which affected her performance well into the following year. That experience has given her a unique perspective during this turbulent season, helping her navigate through the ups and downs.
“If I wouldn’t have gone through that, this would have felt devastating for me,” she reflected. “This year would have felt devastating not having missed as much as I did.”
Though she has missed significant time, Ionescu tries to keep things in perspective. She stated, “I wasn’t out with anything that was detrimental; I just wasn’t good enough to play. But I stayed positive because I knew that it could always be worse.”
During the World Cup break, she opted for more intensive treatment to prepare her body for the challenges ahead.
In her return game, Ionescu scored 17 points, registered six assists, and grabbed three steals, hitting 3-of-9 from beyond the arc.
“It’s about just feeling good and doing what I can to be healthy for when it matters the most,” she said, focusing on the importance of this time of year.
The Liberty’s confidence in her hasn’t wavered. Coach Chris DeMarco noted, “She’s had her ups and downs, but when it’s winning time, she continues to produce. We need her at her best to get to where we want to go.”
