Liberty vs. Sun: Breanna Stewart Drops 31 as Short-Handed New York Opens With a 106-75 Rout

The nicest thing the New York Liberty did to the Connecticut Sun on Friday night came during a break in the action. After the first quarter, Barclays Center played a tribute video for former Liberty player Kennedy Burke, now on the other bench, and the sellout crowd rose to applaud her while the tears came.

Every other minute was far less sentimental. Breanna Stewart went for 31 points and 10 rebounds, a hardship signing named Julie Vanloo put up 12 points and 11 assists, and the Liberty, playing without Sabrina Ionescu and two free-agent additions, blew out Connecticut 106-75. It was already 36-13 when that video rolled. Anybody rooting for the Sun understood the crying for different reasons.

The Game Ended Very Early

It was tied 2-2 for about a blink. Then New York scored eight points in 38 seconds to go up 10-2, and Connecticut never held a lead at any point all night. Stewart made all four of her first-quarter shots for 10 points. Vanloo, barely a Liberty player at that point, had seven. Per the team, that 36-point opening period topped anything New York scored in a single quarter of the 2025 season and was its best first quarter since 2023.

The second quarter offered no relief, and the Liberty carried a 66-37 lead into halftime, their highest-scoring first half in three years.

Connecticut did stir in the third. An 11-2 run between the 8:57 and 6:11 marks, with Diamond Miller scoring five points in 28 seconds along the way, cut the score to 68-48. That's the kind of comeback that only counts if you squint. New York shot 6 of 10 in the quarter and took an 87-60 lead into the fourth, then scored 10 straight to go from 89-66 to 99-66 while Vanloo set up Han Xu for a 3 and Rebekah Gardner for a layup before hitting a 26-footer of her own.

Thirty-One Points, Zero Threes

Stewart scored 31 while going 0 for 4 from three, which is a rude thing to do to a defense. She went 10 of 17 from the field, 11 of 12 at the line, blocked three shots and needed just 28 minutes. The Liberty count it as the 16th 30-point double-double of her regular-season career and her first since Sept. 15, 2024. They also say her 293rd game was when she hit 6,000 career points, the second-fastest pace in WNBA history, and that her 6,008th point moved her past Lauren Jackson into 15th on the league's all-time scoring list. That's a busy Friday.

Vanloo is the one who sends you to the transactions page. New York signed her as a hardship player inside the final 24 hours before tip, and she came off the bench to post 12 points, seven rebounds, 11 assists and a game-best plus-31 on 3 of 4 shooting. According to the team, no reserve in Liberty franchise history had ever put up a points/assists double-double before. Some people take longer than that to find the parking garage.

Marine Johannes hit 5 of 9 from three on her way to 17 points, with five rebounds, three assists and three steals as garnish. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton had 12 in her first regular-season game since 2024, and Jonquel Jones added 10. Pauline Astier and Aubrey Griffin each made their WNBA debuts and got on the board.

Connecticut's bright spots were scattered. Miller set a career high with 16 on 6 of 16 shooting. Aneesah Morrow scored 15 but picked up five turnovers and five fouls. Brittney Griner had 13 on 6 of 11 in her Sun debut. Burke, on an emotional night, finished with four points on 2 of 8.

The Turning Point Was the Opening Tip, Basically

A turning point implies a moment when things could have gone either way, and this game gave us 38 seconds of that. The more useful question is how a team with this many absences made it look so easy, and the answer was tempo and contact. New York got out in transition whenever it could, winning fast-break points 19-1, and it attacked the rim until the whistles came. That covered up a genuinely sloppy night with the ball: the Liberty committed 18 turnovers and Connecticut turned them into 20 points. Usually that's a recipe for a close game. New York won by 31 anyway.

The Numbers From the Blowout

• 36-13: The first quarter, and frankly the final score of any meaningful basketball.
• 26 of 31: Liberty free throws. Connecticut went 7 of 15, a 19-point gap at the line.
• 19-1: Fast-break points, New York's way.
• 4 of 22: Connecticut from three, on the way to 39 percent shooting overall.
• 24: Liberty points off 17 Sun turnovers.

A Debut for the Books

New York is 1-0, 1-0 at home, and Chris DeMarco has his first regular-season win as a head coach. The Liberty say no head coach in franchise history had debuted with a bigger win, and that this is only the second time any team has won by at least 30 in a head coach's debut in WNBA history. Those 106 points are now the franchise record for a season opener, and no team had scored more in an opener since 2023.

All of that came with Ionescu out because of a left foot injury from a preseason game against these same Sun, Rebecca Allen sidelined by a left leg injury and Satou Sabally also missing. The Liberty visit Washington on Sunday, then head to Portland on Tuesday.

Connecticut is 0-1, 0-1 on the road, and gets Seattle at home on Sunday. Miller's career night is worth keeping. Almost everything else can go straight in the shredder.

The Reboot Actually Worked

The Liberty spent the night playing dress-up with their own past, marking the league's 30th anniversary as an original franchise with a retro court design from the Madison Square Garden days, the beloved former mascot Maddie, and Ring of Honor member Kym Hampton on the anthem. It was the sports version of a reboot that drags the original cast back for one episode. Reboots usually flop because the new kids can't carry the show. This one had a head coach in his first game, a hardship signing fresh off the transactions wire, and a franchise-record opener. Somebody greenlight season two.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details as reported by the Associated Press. Team notes from the New York Liberty and Connecticut Sun.