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Night one of the 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend is in the books, and let’s just say the New York Liberty proved why they’re still the team to beat.
The festivities started with the three-point contest, as Allisha Gray, Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum, Lexie Hull, and Sonia Citron participated.
But in the end, the final round was between last year’s winner, Gray, and Ionescu, with the latter able to pull out the win by scoring 30 points after she got hot in her middle racks. With the win, Ionescu follows in Allie Quigley’s footsteps as only the second player to ever win the event multiple times. Her first win came in 2023 when she had a 37-point round, which was the best in WNBA and NBA history.
Ionescu may have been a couple of points shy of the two-year-old record, but she’ll gladly still hoist the trophy.
“I knew I wasn’t going to get it when I missed a few on the front end,” Ionescu told ESPN. “But I mean, I could have gotten close. I just missed some easy ones at the end. I think I knew I was high up there, and I kind of locked out a little bit and started like listening to the crowd. But I mean, 30 is not too bad. So I’m happy with 30 as well.”
She even celebrated on Instagram by doing Steph Curry’s “Night Night” celebration while showing off her new hardware.
She’ll also go home with $62,575 —$60,000 from Aflac and $2,575 from the league— but already promised half to Mystic’s rookie Citron, and the rest will go to her charity SI20.
Then came the skills challenge with Natasha Cloud, Erica Wheeler, Allisha Gray, Courtney Williams, and Skylar Diggins. Again, Gray was unable to repeat at this event, too, with the win handed over to Cloud, who eked it out by just a second with a last-ditch layup.
She and Ionescu become just the third set of teammates to sweep the night, and she’s hoping it sets the tone for a good second half of the season.
“I’ve been talking about it since we both entered the skills and 3-point challenge, been talking to Sab about sweeping the night,” Cloud said. “But today is the day, and it was a good night. I was really thankful for the opportunity. I think it’s also just refreshing. … It’s a great night for the Liberty organization.”
After she secured the win, she immediately ran into the arms of her girlfriend (and teammate) Isabella Harrison, who already has the $55,000 prize money earmarked.
“That’s Izzy B’s money,” Cloud said. “She told me to go win this money for a home, and that’s what it’s going down to.”
See social media’s reaction to night one’s results below.