Five years later, Sabrina still runs Eugene
Nobody else is packing 12,000 people into Matthew Knight Arena on a May Monday.
EUGENE — The last time Sabrina Ionescu wore a jersey in this building, time seemed endless.
The Ducks had just defeated Washington 92-56 on senior night, a game that saw Oregon’s star score 13 points with 11 assists, then take the mic during post-game celebrations to not-so-jokingly call Matthew Knight Arena the “House that we built.”
But riding a 16-game winning streak with the Pac-12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament on the horizon, the end was nowhere in sight for a team that looked destined to compete for another month.
“I think it would be a little tough if I knew this truly was their last game here,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said on March 1, 2020. “But I’m fairly certain we’re guaranteed at least one more here in the next few weeks. This is a group that left quite the legacy. We have some iconic players that we’re losing, and it will be tough to recover at some point. We’re going to miss them so bad. But I think the future is really, really bright.”
Nearly 2,000 days later, Ionescu stood at the center of a new Matthew Knight Arena floor — right in the middle of the O — and took the mic once more. Her jersey was different this time. So was her resume and tax bracket. In the five years since the pandemic took away Ionescu’s chance to pen a final chapter with the Ducks, the now-27-year-old was taken as the WNBA’s No. 1 overall pick, lent her name to one of the best selling shoes in all of basketball, overcame injury, married Marcus Mariota’s college center and, most recently, did the one thing bad luck prevented her from accomplishing back when the jersey she wore was green: she won a championship.
“It’s great to be back home,” said Ionescu moments before the New York Liberty’s preseason tipoff against Japan’s Toyota Antelopes. “And as always, go Ducks.”
So much had changed — but that sound, oh, was that familiar. From the moment Ionescu took the floor in an eventual 84-61 New York victory, a sold-out Monday night crowd cheered her every move.
They erupted during player introductions, exploded after Ionescu hit her first three and lived vicariously through the video board highlights during a timeout showing Ionescu and the Liberty winning the 2024 WNBA title.
Throughout the weekend, it became clear what Eugene meant to Ionescu. It’s why she invited fans out to Rennie’s Landing on Saturday night. It’s why she held a youth clinic on Sunday and participated in so many media sessions it was impossible not to understand that this town, 500 miles north of where she grew up in the Bay Area, has become a special place.