The New York Liberty tied a WNBA record with 19 3-pointers and set a franchise record for margin of victory with a dominating 100-52 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The Liberty improved to 7-0, which tied the franchise record for best start that was set in 1997 during the WNBA’s debut season.
Led by Sabrina Ionescu’s 4-for-6 shooting from 3-point range, 10 Liberty players converted threes. Ionescu finished with a game-high 18 points while Leonie Fiebich, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones each had 13 points for New York. None of the Liberty’s top four scorers played more than 23 minutes.
Tina Charles and Jacy Sheldon paced the Sun (1-6) with 10 points apiece.
New York never trailed and set season-highs for points (100), lead in a game (57), points in a quarter (31) and points in a half (60). The Liberty were credited with 20 assists on 21 baskets in the first half, evidence of their unselfish play and the Sun’s indifferent defense.
Jones sparked the first Liberty surge with back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 13-4 with 6:28 left in the first quarter.
While the Sun missed 11 straight shots, the Liberty’s lead ballooned. New York closed the first quarter on a 10-0 run, highlighted by a banked 3-pointer by Stewart and a long three by Ionescu. It was 31-13 after one quarter.
New York opened the second quarter with five new players, but the shots continued to drop. Jaylyn Sherrod opened the second with a 3-pointer and Marine Johannes scored from close range after a sharp cut to the basket.
Jones reentered the game midway through the second quarter and drained her third three of the half to make it 46-17. Ionescu closed the half with a long three from the wing with six seconds left for a 60-28 halftime lead. Connecticut shot 29 percent from the field in the first half.
New York opened the second half with a 17-0 run as the Sun failed to score for more than five minutes. The lead peaked at 57 points (77-28), which fell two points shy of the biggest lead in WNBA history.
It was the first game of the Commissioner’s Cup in-season tournament for both teams. The Liberty lost in the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup final to the Minnesota Lynx.
–Field Level Media
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