The 3-point contest at this year’s WNBA All-Star festivities will not feature sensational rookie Caitlin Clark and reigning event champion Sabrina Ionescu.
Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray, Jonquel Jones, Marina Mabrey and Kayla McBride will compete in the event, the WNBA announced Wednesday. Brittney Griner, Sophie Cunningham and Erica Wheeler, along with Gray and Mabrey, will compete in the Skills Challenge. Both competitions will take place Friday at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.
Ionescu won last year’s competition by making 25 of her last 26 shots and totaled 37 points in the final round, the highest score of any 3-point contest in either the men’s or women’s game. She also faced NBA star Stephen Curry in a unique 3-point competition in February, losing by three points.
The New York Liberty star has made 74 three-pointers this season, the second-most in the league after Minnesota Lynx’s McBride (76).
Clark is tied for third for most 3-pointers made, tied with Arike Ogunbowale and Kelsey Plum with 71. On Wednesday, she set a new league record for most assists in a single game with 19, adding to her list of WNBA milestones. She is also the fastest player in league history to reach 400 points and 200 assists, reaching that mark in 26 games, compared to 33 for previous record holder Sue Bird. Clark has 213 assists, a franchise record for most in a season.
Clark, the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever in this year’s WNBA Draft, is expected to make her All-Star debut for Team WNBA, while Ionescu will play for Team USA.
The WNBA confirmed that both Clark and Ionescu had received invitations to participate in the 3-point contest, but declined the invitation.
Ionescu was asked Tuesday about her possible participation. “I haven’t decided if I’m going to do it, honestly. I have a lot to do,” she said. “First of all, the one I had at WNBA All-Star, I’m not sure what will ever top that and that’s just one of those moments in sports where you’re like, I just can’t believe that happened.”
When a reporter asked her Wednesday if the league had contacted her about the competition, Clark said, “I don’t know.”
“I’m just focused on this game tonight and then we’re going to go for the All-Star team,” she said ahead of Wednesday’s loss to the Dallas Wings.
Dolson, a Washington Mystics center, leads the league in 3-point percentage this season (48.5 percent). Jones, a Liberty center, is making her third 3-point game appearance. Her 3-point percentage is 39.6 percent, compared to Gray’s 36 percent and Mabrey’s 34.8 percent.
The 3-point competition consists of two timed rounds with ball racks at five points around the 3-point arc. Four racks contain four balls worth one point each and one “money” ball worth two points, while the fifth rack is an “all money ball” rack with all balls worth two points. There will also be two balls at deep shot locations worth three points. The two players with the highest scores in the first round advance to the finals.
The 3-point contest will air at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN.
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(Photo: Luke Hales/Getty Images)