Barclays Center was not the place to cure a hangover on Sunday afternoon.
Though the New York Liberty were facing the Connecticut Sun, perhaps the worst team in the league, __ fans were going ape the whole time. To kick off Pride Month, the self-proclaimed gayest team in the league celebrated Ellie the Elephant’s birthday and obliterated the Connecticut Sun.
Obliterated doesn’t really describe it though; a vivid recounting of what the Liberty put Connecticut through on Sunday afternoon would border on the obscene, unfit to print.
The numbers do the blowout a bit of justice; the Liberty tied the single-game 3-point record with 19 makes, the record they set just five games prior against the Chicago Sky. At one point, the fighting Ellies were shooting 17-of-24 from three, which would be impressive if they were in the gym by themselves.
Head Coach Sandy Brondello actually tried to help the Sun out by inserting subs with over four minutes left in the first quarter, but Rachid Meziane wouldn’t take the bait, I guess. By not calling a timeout, and with no other whistles to speak of, the Liberty starters played the whole first quarter, winning it 31-13.
In all fairness, no fiery timeout speech could have saved Connecticut. Marine Johannès came in, shot one-legged threes, and dropped dimes...
Sabrina Ionescu, falling out of bounds with two defenders lunging at her, hit a 25-footer to make the score 60-28 and end the half.
The crowd grew delirious — to be expected — but so did the players. No-look passes and H-O-R-S-E shots infiltrated most possessions, savvy veterans giving the crowd exactly what they wanted...
Whether intentional or not, the third quarter is when they started to embarrass the Sun. They opened the period on a 25-2 run, opening up a 57-point lead to flirt with the largest blowout in WNBA history (59 points).
During pauses in the massacre, players wished Ellie happy birthday on the Jumbotron, the elephant pranced around the court to screaming fans, or Sabrina Ionescu wildly celebrated a successful coach’s challenge...
It felt a tad over the line, as the Connecticut Sun were transformed into the Washington Generals. Marina Mabrey, who lost her minutes by a WNBA-record 55 freaking points, never gave the hard foul that would have been well-earned. New York basketball legend Tina Charles showed us a few textbook post moves, then sat on the bench and took in a rare sight she had not previously seen in her 15-year career.
It was also odd that both Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones saw fourth-quarter minutes, though that could be explained away by the Commissioner’s Cup. This game did open play in the round-robin stage of the WNBA’s mid-season tournament, where point differential is a tiebreaker.
Still, though, the lead was 57 freaking points. Marquesha Davis, the #11 overall pick in 2024, was not subbed into the game until early in the fourth quarter. When asked if a possible injury/illness was the reason it took so long for Davis to get into the game, Sandy Brondello curtly replied: “No, it’s Commissioner’s Cup. I mean, I think you know that. Just, [getting] the score up, we still wanted to play well. I mean, Q came in and got her minutes, so just staying ready.”
Ouch.
Further nitpicks could include the 19 turnovers the Liberty committed, or the fact that the garbage-time unit went scoreless in the game’s final 5:15, allowing the Sun to put a dash of makeup on this pig.
But Brondello nor Ionescu even mentioned those minor miscues in the postgame presser, that’s what a total display of dominance this was: “It was great to be able to see the contribution from everyone. Everyone came out really ready. Everyone scored and contributed in a really impactful way, from the start to finish, every single quarter ... And obviously, we knew there’s 17,000 fans there tonight, and that was kind of my message before the game, was this is a big game for us. There can be new fans, new kids that come and want to watch us for the first time. They don’t know we’ve had four [games] in six days like. You know, they don’t care.”
Those kids don’t know how blessed they are, stumbling into watching one of the greatest pro basketball teams of all time at their peak, where the most negative thing I can write is that a star player celebrated too fervently after a successful challenge call.
Throughout the start to this season, the incredible individuals on this team have all had a moment in the sun. Natasha Cloud had a flawless debut, Jonquel Jones took over in Indiana, Breanna Stewart stole a game with pure effort, Sabrina Ionescu carried the offense in Washington, Marine Johannès dazzled against the Valkyries, the list goes on.
But in moving to 7-0, the Liberty displayed total, team-wide domination: No player had more than 18 points, ten women hit a 3-pointer, and they assisted on their first nineteen makes. Behind the best crowd in the WNBA, the best team in the W flexed their muscles all over the Connecticut Sun, and handed them the second-worst loss in league history...
“I’m so happy to be on this side, finally.” — Isabelle Harrison
Final Score: New York Liberty 100, Connecticut Sun 52
Ring night for Roneeka Hodges
Though Roneeka Hodges played 11 seasons in the WNBA, the lefty guard never won a championship. But in 2024, Hodges finally got her rin, in her third and final season as an assistant coach on Sandy Brondello’s staff.
This past offseason, Hodges departed for Connecticut, where she is now the Associate Head Coach. Prior to tip-off on Sunday, the Liberty honored Hodges and presented her with the 2024 championship ring...
“The goal is always to continue to learn, to grow and to elevate,” reflected Hodges. “And I think for me, I had a great experience here. I learned a ton from Sandy, Sandy and everybody in the organization. And I think I’ve been well prepared for the situation that I’m in now, and I’m very, very grateful.”
Next Up
New York Liberty v Washington Mystics Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images
The Liberty travel to Washington D.C. yet again, after taking down the Mystics on Friday night. Tip-off for the rematch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday evening.