‘We feel all the love’ — Sabrina, Nyara and the rest of the WNBA champs thrill crowd in return to Eugene

She already had the day, Mayor Kaarin Knudson officially declaring Monday, May 12, “Sabrina Ionescu Day” in Eugene, so why not take the night?

Five years, two months and 11 days after playing what turned out to be her final game as an Oregon Duck at Matthew Knight Arena, one of the most popular athletes in school history returned Monday night to thunderous applause from a sold-out crowd of 12,364 as her current team, the 2024 WNBA champion New York Liberty, topped the Toyko Antelopes, 84-61 in a preseason game. 

Ionescu led all scorers with 25 points, including six 3-pointers, and 9-year-old Camila Kammerzelt, of Springfield, was there to see it in person.

“It was really fun,” said Camila, who had a large rolled-up sign in her hand as she and her family — parents Paul and Ariana Kammerzelt and older sisters Leila, 17, and Anaya, 13 — hustled across the arena’s westside concourse to get home.

Asked what she loves about Ionescu, the greatest player in UO women’s basketball history and the consensus 2020 women’s college player of the year in 2020, Camila said: “How talented she is … and she works really hard.”

With that, she proudly unrolled her sign:

“WELCOME BACK SABRINA & NYARA!!”

Yes, indeed, welcome back Sabrina Ionescu and Nyara Sabally, both former Ducks, and both members of the Liberty.

Sabally, the Ducks’ leading scorer in 2020-21 and 2021-22, usually comes off the bench for the Liberty but found herself in the starting lineup Monday. She finished with seven points and five rebounds. 

“Pretty special to watch these two here tonight,” UO women’s head basketball coach Kelly Graves said at the post-game press conference. “That was neat. That’s the legacy they left. I mean, a statue’s nice, but they left themselves in the hearts of Ducks everywhere. You saw it tonight, and that was cool.”

Before the starting lineups were announced, Ionescu took the microphone and addressed the crowd from midcourt.

“Thank you so much for having us,” the 5-foot-11 WNBA all-star guard said. “We feel all the love, thank you for supporting us. It’s great to be back home,” she said as a huge roar erupted. “So thank you, guys.”

It was some sweet redemption for Ionescu, whose senior season was cut short because of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments canceled for the first — and only — time ever. 

The Ducks had just won the Pac-12 Conference tourney in Las Vegas and were ranked No. 2 in the nation with a 31-2 record. After losing in the Final Four a year earlier, many thought it was Oregon’s year to win it all.

But a first-round home game was not to be, and it all just felt so abrupt and so unfair.

“We didn’t get to see her in the (NCAA) tournament or anything that year,” said Sarah Jones, of Cottage Grove, as she and her husband, Brian, took their seats at midcourt in Section 112, Row A, right behind the UO student section. “This way, we get to say goodbye.”

Sitting just to the left of the Joneses were Dave Cook and Mary Overgaard, a 70-something couple from Lake Oswego who’ve had their seats for UO men’s basketball since the arena opened in 2011 and were lucky enough to get the same seats for Monday’s game.

Except they weren’t wearing their usual green and yellow, opting instead for the Liberty’s black and seafoam green.

“Well, that’s because we’re for the Liberty,” Overgaard said as she and everyone else watched Ionescu make her way around the court after the game, followed by a horde of photographers as she hugged everyone from her husband, former UO football All-American center Hroniss Grasu, to the Duck mascot, signing as many autographs as possible.

Cook was wearing a black Liberty “Equality” T-shirt with Ionescu’s No. 20 on it, a gift from a friend in Santa Cruz, California.

“We’ve always regretted that we didn’t get women’s (season) tickets,” Cook said. “But here we are.”