Defending champion Liberty throttle Connecticut with 48-point win

Connecticut’s Rayah Marshall (13) pulls down a rebound during Sunday’s WNBA game in Brooklyn. The Liberty beat the Sun by 48 points. (Photo by Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images)

The defending league champion New York Liberty had reason to be tired before Sunday’s WNBA matinee with the Connecticut at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

This was the fourth game in six games for the Liberty, who had played back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday night.

New York guard Sabrina Ionescu wasn’t looking for any excuses before a sellout crowd of 17,415 fans.

“This is a big game,” she said. “There could be new kids, new fans that want to watch us for the first time. They don’t know we’ve (played) four games in six days. They don’t care. They want to watch Liberty basketball.

“We weren’t going to use that as an excuse to be lethargic or tired because we’ve played so many games,” Ionescu said.

New York tied their own league record by sinking 19 three-point shots and led by as many as 57 points as the Liberty throttled the Sun, 100-52. The 48-point margin of victory was the second-largest win in WNBA history, only behind a 59-point win by Minnesota over Indiana (111-52) in 2017.

New York (7-0) matched their best start to a season with their seventh straight victory.

Ionescu led the Liberty with 18 points, five assists, two steals and a block. Leonie Fiebich, Brenna Stewart and Jonquel Jones each added 13 for New York.

“It was great to see a contribution from everyone,” Ionescu said. “Everyone came out really ready. Everyone scored and contributed in an impactful way from start to finish.”

Ionescu had four three-point shots while Fiebich and Jones had three each.

New York raced out to an early 13-4 lead and never looked back. They led from wire-to-wire. In the third quarter, New York scored the first 17 points of the quarter and held the Sun scoreless for more than 5½ minutes to begin the second half.

It was the worst single-game loss in Sun history, eclipsing a 43-point loss to Washington, 102-59 in 2019.

Tina Charles and Jacy Sheldon each had 10 points to lead Connecticut (1-6). Marina Mabrey and Aneesah Morrow each added eight points. Morrow’s eight points marked a new season and career-high for the rookie.

“This team was too strong for us,” Sun head coach Rachid Meziane said. “To win against a team like this, we have to play a better game. Today was a bad game for us on both sides of the court.”

Added guard Jacy Sheldon, “Any time you get your butt kicked like this, you learn a lot. We’re still trying to learn each other and to execute our offense.”

Connecticut shot just 31 percent from the floor (19-of-61) and made just 21.4 percent from three-point range (6-of-28).

On the other side of the floor, New York shot 62.3 percent (33-of-53) from the field and tied their own league record for three-point shots in a single game set earlier this season (May 22) against Chicago.

New York ran at will against Connecticut, outscoring them 29-2 on fast break opportunities.

The Sun try to get back on the winning track when they host Atlanta on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

NOTES: This was a Commissioner’s Cup game. With the loss, a $1,000 will be donated to the Sun’s 2025 Commission Cup beneficiary – the ACLU of Connecticut. The Sun’s 13 points in the first quarter tied a season low for first quarter points. They also had 13 against Las Vegas on May 20. Connecticut’s eight points in the third quarter was a new season low for third quarter points. … New York had more assists than Connecticut, 29-11.

New York 100, Connecticut 52
At Brooklyn
Connecticut (52) Nelson Ododa 2-5 2-2 6, Charles 5-12 0-0 10, Hartley 2-6 0-0 5, Mabrey 2-11 2-2 8, Rivers 1-7 0-0 2, Peters 1-4 0-0 2, Morrow 2-6 2-2 8, Marshall 0-2 1-2 1, Diaby 0-1 0-0 0, Sheldon 4-7 1-1 10. Totals 19-61 8-9 52
New York (100) Stewart 4-5 4-4 13, Fiebich 4-5 2-2 13, Jones 4-7 2-2 13, Cloud 3-3 0-0 8, Ionescu 6-9 2-2 18, Harrison 4-6 0-0 9, Burke 2-7 2-2 7, Gardner 1-1 0-0 3, Johannes 3-4 0-0 8, Sherrod 2-5 1-3 6, Davis 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 33-53 15-17 100
Connecticut (1-6)        13  15    8  16  — 52
New York (7-0)            31  29  30  10  — 100
Three-point goals: Connecticut 6-28 (Charles 0-1, Hartley 1-2, Mabrey 2-9, Rivers 0-5, Peters 0-2, Morrow 2-5, Sheldon 1-4, New York 19-32 (Stewart 1-2, Fiebich 3-4, Jones 3-4, Cloud 2-2, Ionescu 4-6, Harrison 1-1, Burke 1-5, Gardner 1-1, Johannes 2-3, Sherrod 1-3, Davis 0-1) ; Attendance: 17,415 (sellout)