DeMarco's Liberty Earns Dominant First Win in Season Opener
Published on May 8, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
New York Liberty News Release
NEW YORK - The New York Liberty (1-0) defeated the Connecticut Sun (0-1), 106-75, in the team's season opener as Chris DeMarco earned his first regular season win as a head coach.
Breanna Stewart led New York with a double-double of 31 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 58.8 percent (10-for-17) from the field and adding three blocks. Stewart became the second-fastest player in WNBA history to score 6,000 career points, doing so in her 293rd game. She also passed Lauren Jackson for 15th on the WNBA's all-time scoring list with 6,008 points and passed Becky Hammon for the seventh-most made field goals in franchise history with her 779th made field goal in a Liberty uniform. This marked the 16th 30-point double-double of Stewart's regular-season career and her first since Sept. 15, 2024.
Marine Johannès added 17 points on 55.6 percent (5-for-9) from beyond the arc while adding five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 28 minutes. Julie Vanloo came off the bench to score 12 points with seven rebounds and a game-high 11 assists for the first points/assists double-double by a reserve in Liberty franchise history.
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton finished with 12 points on 57.1 percent (4-for-7) shooting from the field in her first regular season game since 2024. Jonquel Jones chipped in 10 points while adding five rebounds, two steals and one block in 25 minutes. Pauline Astier and Aubrey Griffin both made their WNBA debuts and scored the first regular season points of their careers.
New York erupted for 36 points in the first quarter, more than the team scored in any single quarter during the 2025 season and the Liberty's highest-scoring first quarter since 2023. The Liberty's 66 points before halftime marked the team's highest-scoring first half since 2023 and the second-most points before halftime by any team since 2023.
Connecticut closed the gap with an 11-2 run from 8:57 to 6:11 in the third quarter, but the Liberty shot 60 percent (6-for-10) from the field in the third to take a 87-60 lead into the fourth. The Liberty used a 19-6 run from 0:58 in the third to 4:15 in the fourth to extend the advantage and finished with a 106-75 victory. The 31-point margin of victory marked the biggest win in a head coach's debut in franchise history, and just the second time a team won by at least 30 points in a head coach's debut throughout WNBA history. New York's 106 points set a franchise record for highest-scoring season opener and is the most points in a season opener by any team since 2023.
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