New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu captured her second WNBA three-point contest victory Friday night in Indianapolis. She scored 30 points in the final round, which is tied for the second most in WNBA three-point contest history—behind only herself, when she set the record with 37 in her 2023 win.
She didn't compete in the WNBA three-point contest last year, but she did compete in another shootout: the challenge against Steph Curry, which also happened to be in Indianapolis, during the '24 NBA All-Star weekend.
Curry came out on top during that challenge, when he scored 29 points in the final round to edge out Ionescu's 26. But the narrow defeat gave the Liberty star some extra motivation to get the job done in the same city on Friday night.
"It means everything. The last time I was here in Indy against Steph, I lost," she said, holding her new trophy on the ESPN broadcast. "So I feel like I had to come back and redeem myself."
Sabrina Ionescu talks about what it means to win her 2nd STARRY 3-Point Contest 🏆 pic.twitter.com/czeX6yVeU8
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 19, 2025
She even had to call the NBA's all-time leader in threes after the win.
"I called Steph after and was showing the trophy off because last time he beat me when we were here in Indy," Ionescu said, via Deyscha Smith of The Next.
And of course she hit Curry's signature "night night" celebration, too:
NIGHT NIGHT 😴👌 pic.twitter.com/yk4M9AdSUh
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) July 19, 2025
She beat Allisha Gray, last year's three-point champion, in the final, where the Dream guard finished with 22. Both Ionescu and Gray scored 25 in the first round to advance to the finals. Ionescu is now just the second WNBA player to win multiple three-point contests, joining four-time winner Allie Quigley.
Her Liberty teammate Natasha Cloud won the skills challenge earlier in the night for a clean New York sweep. Now, Ionescu has the All-Star Game in front of her on Saturday, where she will compete against her New York co-star, Breanna Stewart.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sabrina Ionescu Shared How Steph Curry Motivated Her for WNBA Three-Point Contest Win.
