Oregon Professional Athletes

Sabrina Ionescu made history this postseason. It just wasn't the kind she was chasing.

The Oregon product passed Kara Lawson on the all-time WNBA playoff scoring list during New York's semifinal series against the Atlanta Dream — a milestone that arrived amid the wreckage of a sweep that ended the Liberty's championship defense. For a player who has built her legacy on big moments, the 2026 postseason exit stings precisely because the individual flashes were there. The team result was not.

Game 1: 27 Points, One Assist, a 10-Point Loss

Ionescu opened the series on Oct. 4 with 27 points — her best output of the three games — but the Liberty blew a three-point halftime lead and fell 92-82 as Atlanta's defense exploded in the third quarter, outscoring New York 32-15 in the period alone. Ionescu finished with just one assist and a -12 plus-minus. Postgame, she didn't want to hear about her own numbers. "It doesn't matter," she said, deflecting any individual praise. The game also featured a heated staredown from Dream forward Angel Reese that made the rounds on social media — a snapshot of the series' simmering intensity.

Game 2: A Chance at Heroism, a Shot at Blame

Game 2 on Oct. 7 went to overtime, and Ionescu — who finished with 10 points and 7 assists — had an opportunity to be the hero. She wasn't. After the Liberty's 101-98 overtime loss pushed them to the brink of elimination, Ionescu stood at the podium and threw herself under the bus. "My fault," she said, refusing to deflect. The self-accountability was notable, but it also underscored the weight of a series slipping away.

Game 3: Swept, and Questions Without Answers

The Liberty's season ended Oct. 9 in an 85-83 loss. Ionescu scored 12 points with 3 assists in the closeout game, finishing the series without a win. The drama didn't stop at the final buzzer — Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, and Jonquel Jones each declined to publicly endorse head coach Chris DeMarco's return when given the opportunity postgame. DeMarco said he wasn't worried about his job security. The players' silence spoke louder.

Ionescu's playoff scoring milestone — surpassing Lawson on the all-time list — is a genuine marker of longevity and excellence in a league that rewards neither easily. But for a Liberty team that entered the postseason as defending champions, the Dream's sweep will be the defining image of 2026. For Ionescu, now in her seventh WNBA season and still one of the game's premier guards, the offseason questions will center less on her play and more on what gets rebuilt around her.

Fellow Duck and Liberty forward Satou Sabally was also on the roster for New York's eliminated squad, though her numbers from the series were not reported in available game logs. Teammate Anneli Maley, also an Oregon alum, dressed for all three games without recorded stats.

Te-Hina Paopao, meanwhile, was on the winning side — the Dream guard advances to the WNBA Finals with Atlanta after helping knock out her former Oregon teammate's team.

Oregon's Ionescu at the Center of a Historic Upset

Sabrina Ionescu has heard it all this season — washed, declining, a shadow of herself while recovering from a foot injury. She didn't fold. And in the first week of the 2026 WNBA playoffs, the Oregon product offered the loudest possible response.

The New York Liberty, seeded eighth, swept the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx in the first round, becoming the first No. 8 seed in WNBA history to eliminate a No. 1 seed. Ionescu was a driving force across both games, combining for 31 points, 13 assists, and 5 steals in the series while posting a plus-minus of +12 and +15, respectively.

After a rocky start to the season, Ionescu's resurgence tracked alongside the Liberty's. She put the redemption arc plainly, dropping a truth bomb after the series: she never wavered from trusting herself, even as outside noise grew louder.

Game-by-Game Breakdown

In Game 1 (Sunday, Sept. 27), the Liberty handled Minnesota 91-75 with Ionescu posting 13 points and 6 assists in a wire-to-wire performance. The Liberty's offense clicked from the opening tip — sharp, efficient, and exactly the kind of basketball Ionescu described as "putting ourselves in the best position to win."

Game 2 (Wednesday, Sept. 30) was the exclamation point. Ionescu erupted for 18 points and 7 assists in an 87-71 win at a raucous Barclays Center, nearly 18,000 fans in attendance. She set up a cutting Breanna Stewart layup early to help ignite a Liberty run, and the Lynx never recovered. The Big 3 of Ionescu, Stewart, and Jonquel Jones proved too versatile and too deep for Minnesota to contain.

The win wasn't without a physical toll. In Game 1, an aggressive play by Lynx guard Olivia Miles left Ionescu shaken, and a separate incident from the regular-season finale — in which Ionescu fouled Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese with an elbow to the face — already resulted in an automatic fine. None of it slowed her down when it mattered.

The Road Ahead

The Liberty now advance to the semifinals against the Atlanta Dream, which sets up an intriguing subplot: Ionescu vs. the team she injured in the regular season. Atlanta confirmed Reese is available for the postseason despite the facial injury she sustained in that regular-season finale.

Fellow Duck Satou Sabally (Oregon, 2020) is also on the Liberty roster and suited up for both playoff wins, adding to the Duck presence in New York's postseason push. Oregon's Anneli Maley also appeared in both first-round games for the Liberty, giving Eugene two additional alumni on a team that is very much playing for a championship.

For Ionescu specifically, this run is more than just wins and stats. After a season that started with doubt and ended with a historic upset, she made her message unmistakable: the Liberty never saw themselves as underdogs. The rest of the WNBA is now taking notice.

Sabrina Ionescu: Flagrant Finish, Fearless Outlook

Sabrina Ionescu ended the New York Liberty's regular season with a fine, a loss, and a chip on her shoulder — and she wouldn't have it any other way.

The Oregon alum picked up a Flagrant 1 foul late in the first half of Wednesday's regular-season finale against the Atlanta Dream, catching Angel Reese in the face with an inadvertent elbow on a pick-and-roll drive. Reese exited the game and did not return. The WNBA fined Ionescu $500 for the play, though the call drew immediate backlash from fans who labeled Reese's reaction an embellishment. Atlanta's coaching staff later offered a positive injury update on Reese. Dream coach Karl Smesko described the situation as less serious than initially feared.

The game itself wasn't much kinder to Ionescu. She finished with just 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist in a 65-83 loss — a minus-15 in the plus/minus column — capping a regular season that rarely reflected what she's capable of. Earlier in the week she'd shown more of her floor general form, distributing 9 assists in a 106-69 blowout of Toronto on Sunday and scoring 15 points in the first Dream meeting on Tuesday, though New York dropped that one 84-95.

The bigger story isn't the foul or the fine. It's what comes next.

The Liberty enter the playoffs as the No. 8 seed with a 28-16 record — the defending 2024 WNBA champions now cast as underdogs against the Minnesota Lynx. Ionescu isn't running from that label. "We're not a traditional eight seed," she said ahead of the first-round matchup, pushing back on any narrative that New York is simply happy to be there. She called the bracket position an opportunity for an upset, not a death sentence.

The regular season was, by Ionescu's own standards, a rough one. Injuries disrupted her rhythm throughout 2026, and she's acknowledged she didn't play like herself consistently. But she's made clear she's not interested in excuses or sympathy — only in what happens when the games matter most.

The Other Ducks on the Roster

Ionescu isn't the only Oregon alum on New York's playoff squad. Forward Satou Sabally is on the Liberty roster, and center Anneli Maley contributed in spot minutes during the final week — logging 2 points in the regular-season finale and picking up 2 assists and a plus-13 in the Toronto rout on Sunday.

On the other side of that blowout was Nyara Sabally, Satou's sister, now with the Toronto Tempo. Nyara logged time in the loss, part of a tough week that also included defeats to Connecticut (81-95) and Chicago (85-97). The Tempo will not be in the postseason.

The Liberty will. And if Ionescu has anything to say about it, the No. 8 seed will be a very uncomfortable draw for whoever's waiting.

New York's Duck Pair Makes Noise Down the Stretch

With four regular-season games left and playoff seeding on the line, Oregon's fingerprints are all over the New York Liberty's push — and the bigger WNBA storylines of the week.

Sabrina Ionescu delivered her most complete performance of the post-World Cup stretch Friday, dropping 17 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals in New York's 93–81 victory over the Minnesota Lynx. Her plus-minus of +15 told the story of a player who controlled the game in every phase. Ionescu had set the tone ahead of the resumed season, warning that the Liberty couldn't lean on the World Cup break as an excuse — and she backed it up. The win extended Minnesota's losing streak and tightened the Liberty's grip on a top seed.

The backdrop to Ionescu's strong week, however, carries a bittersweet edge. Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream drained a three-pointer against the Connecticut Sun to surpass Ionescu's mark for the most three-pointers made in a single WNBA season — a record Ionescu had previously held. Ionescu reacted publicly to the milestone, and the WNBA world took note. It's a record that slipped away quietly during the World Cup break, but it doesn't dim what has been a historically efficient shooting season for the Oregon alum.

From Waiver Wire to Roster Lock

The more unexpected Oregon story this week belongs to Anneli Maley. The Liberty center, who initially believed her stint with the team was finished, received a call that turned out to be the opposite of a release — a promotion to a full-season contract as an injury replacement. "I've been promoted," Maley said, capturing the whiplash of the moment. She appeared in Friday's win over Minnesota as New York continued to manage its roster through the final stretch of the regular season. For a player who had to claw her way onto the roster, earning a guaranteed contract with a contending team is a significant career moment — and good news for Duck fans tracking alumni at the pro level.

Elsewhere in Duck Country

Outside the Liberty, Holly Winterburn had an active week for the Portland Fire, scoring 18 points with 2 steals in a narrow 91–94 loss to Phoenix on Friday before adding 8 points and 3 rebounds in a Saturday setback against Golden State. The effort was there; the wins weren't.

Nyara Sabally suited up for Toronto against Indiana on Friday, though she did not register counting stats in the box score in a tough 85–103 loss for the Tempo.

The Liberty remain the flagship story for Oregon alumni this week — a star guard who won't let a lost record define a strong season, and a reserve center whose career just leveled up in the best way possible.