Breanna Stewart totaled 31 points and 10 rebounds as the New York Liberty easily survived the absence of Sabrina Ionescu and rolled to a 106-75 rout of the Connecticut Sun Friday night in New York.
Stewart began her fourth season in New York by shooting 10-of-17 from the floor. Stewart also made 11 of 12 free throws and surpassed 6,000 career points.
Marine Johannes added 17 by hitting five 3-pointers and shooting 6-of-13 from the floor. Betnijah-Laney Hamilton contributed 12 points in her return from knee surgery after missing last season
Julie Vanloo added 12 points after joining New York on a hardship contract. Jonquel Jones chipped in 10 as the Liberty shot 52.2%, hit 10 threes and shot 83.9% (26 of 31) at the free-throw line.
Besides Ionescu, the Liberty were missing Rebecca Allen (left leg) and Satou Sabally (cyst). New York also was without Raquel Carrera and Leonie Fiebich, who were finishing overseas commitments.
Diamond Miller scored 16 in her debut for Connecticut. Aneesah Morrow added 15 and Brittney Griner contributed 13 in her debut for the Sun.
Coming off an 11-33 showing last season, the Sun shot 38.6% and were 4-of-22 from outside the arc. Connecticut also allowed 24 points off 17 turnovers and trailed by as many as 33.
The Liberty took their first double-digit lead when Jones sank a 3 to make it 16-4 halfway through the first quarter. A basket by Vanloo opened a 25-8 lead a little over two minutes later, and Jones sank a layup with 21 seconds left for a 36-13 edge through the opening quarter
The Liberty continued pouring it on by taking a trio of 27-point leads in the first 3:18 of the second. Johannes canned a 29-foot 3-pointer for a 52-26 lead with 3:52 remaining and the Liberty held a 66-37 lead at halftime.
The Sun made a small comeback with an 11-2 run to cut the lead to 70-50 on a basket by Griner with 6:11 left in the third. The Liberty quickly restored order, ending the period with an 87-60 lead.
–Field Level Media
