Liberty rout Connecticut Sun for 7-0 start to season

Jonquel Jones of the Liberty drives against Kariata Diaby of the Connecticut Sun during a WNBA game at Barclays Center on Sunday. Credit: Anna Sergeeva
The Liberty reeled off seven straight wins to tip off WNBA season No. 1 back in 1997. No Liberty team had matched that sprint out of the gate — until now.
This impressive version matched it with the largest margin of victory in franchise history and the second-largest spread in WNBA history. The Liberty beat their old record by five, winning by 48.
The defending champs ended up flattening the Connecticut Sun Sunday, 100-52, in front of a satisfied sellout crowd of 17,415 inside Barclays Center.
They tied their own regular-season league record for three-point makes with 19 along the way.
And this was by a team that was completing a taxing stretch of four games in six days.
So the Liberty stand at 7-0 in season No. 29. “I say it all the time: The only team that can beat us is us,” coach Sandy Brondello said before the game. “That’s how much I believe in this team. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy.”
This one turned out to be easy. The Liberty shot 62.3%, including 59.4% on threes. Those 19 makes equaled the mark they set at Chicago on May 22. Ten players knocked down at least one three this time.
This unselfish group also handed out assists on its first 19 baskets — the second-best start in league history — and finished with 29 assists on 33 field goals. The Liberty posted a 29-2 advantage in fast-break points. And they held Connecticut to 31.1% shooting and forced 21 turnovers.
So what does 7-0 say?
“I’ve said this before, but I think that it’s just that we are exactly what we think we are,” Jonquel Jones said after contributing 13 points and 11 rebounds, making the Liberty 27-0 in regular-season play when she provides a double-double.
“We know that we’re a team that when we go out there, we play our basketball every night. We’re an extremely hard team to beat.”
Sabrina Ionescu topped the scoring column with 18. She made four threes, moving to one behind Crystal Robinson’s all-time franchise record of 400.
“Obviously, we knew there’s 17,000 fans there,” Ionescu said. “And that was kind of my message before the game was this is a big game. There could be new fans, new kids that come and want to watch us for the first time. They don’t know that we’ve had four in six days. They don’t care.
“They want to go out and watch Liberty basketball, and we’re not going to use that as an excuse to come out and be lethargic and tired because we’ve been playing so many games.”
This marked the start of the Commissioner’s Cup games. Teams play five conference games spread from June 1-17. The two with the best record in those games from each conference will meet for the Cup on July 1. The Liberty fell to Minnesota in the 2024 final.
“We want to definitely go back to the final again, so every game matters,” Brondello said.
The rebuilding Sun have dropped six of their seven games. “We have a lot of new pieces, new staff, everything,” said Bria Hartley, their point guard from North Babylon who used to play for the Liberty.
Jones’ second three in her first three tries gave the Liberty a 13-4 lead.
Timeout, Connecticut.
The Liberty nailed seven of their first nine three-point attempts, including two by Ionescu and Leonie Fiebich to go with the pair by Jones and one by Breanna Stewart who finished with 13 points.
After Stewart banked in her three, Ionescu followed with her second and Stewart followed with a fast-break layup, and it was 31-13 after one quarter.
The reserves got into the act more in the next quarter. Jaylyn Sherrod began it with a three. When Isabelle Harrison made a short jumper, it was 40-15 Liberty.
Timeout, Connecticut.
The Liberty sat on a 32-point cushion at the intermission. When Ionescu hit a floater, they had a 14-0 run to start the third and led by 46 at 74-28.
Timeout, Connecticut.
It became a 17-0 run — 77-28. The score was 90-36 after three.
Minnesota holds the WNBA record for largest margin of victory with a 59-point win over Indiana in 2017. The Liberty’s lead reached 57 early in the fourth.
“The Liberty’s a big mountain,” Sun coach Rachid Meziane said. “The threats come from everywhere.”
Notes & quotes: Backup center Nyara Sabally (knee) missed her fifth straight game for the Liberty. “She’s making progress, but she’s still not 100% confident to go,” Brondello said. “. . . It’s a mental component as well. We know Nyara has had some knee issues. But she’s working hard. It’s getting better. But we don’t want it to just be getting better. We want her to feel confident to go out there and play her normal game.”
More WNBA

