Former Oregon women’s basketball star Sabrina Ionescu officially began her WNBA journey on Saturday with the New York Liberty. 

The last time Ionescu was on the court, she led Oregon to its Pac-12 tournament title win before the coronavirus pandemic canceled the NCAA tournament and thus delayed the start of the 2020 WNBA season.

The No. 1 overall draft pick made her much-anticipated debut against the WNBA title favorites Seattle Storm. Ionescu finished the opener with an impressive 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.

With just over five minutes into the game, Ionescu registered her first WNBA points following a rebound put-back off her own miss. Five minutes into her career, she continually added to her stat line with four points and five rebounds. 

The Storm welcomed the rookie into the league by throwing a variety of defensive looks at her throughout the game, even surprising her with some sideline trapping and double teaming. 

Despite a poor shooting debut, going 4-of-17 from the field, Ionescu found other ways to impact the game on both sides of the floor. 

Even with the tough defense, Ionescu went into attack mode on the offensive end in the second half. She put the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard on skates with a step back hesitation to finish with an easy right-handed layup. 

Despite it being her debut, the rookie’s poise and composure shined along with her willingness to lead her teammates in 33 logged minutes. Even with the 87-71 loss, this game was just the start of her professional career. 

Follow Carly on Twitter @carlyebisuya.