Stewart Propels Liberty over Connecticut
WNBA New York Liberty

Stewart Propels Liberty over Connecticut

Published on June 9, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
New York Liberty News Release


UNCASVILLE, Conn. - The New York Liberty (8-4) used a third-quarter run to pull away from the Connecticut Sun (2-11) and extend the team's win streak to five games with an 89-80 victory.

Breanna Stewart led the Liberty with 28 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three assists as she passed Cappie Pondexter for the fastest player in franchise history to reach 2,500 points (121 games). She also moved into the top-10 on the Liberty's franchise steals list and recorded her 1,000th rebound with New York. This marked Stewart's 60th time scoring at least 20 points in a Liberty uniform, one of four players in franchise history with at least 60 such games. Stewart also ranks fourth in WNBA history with 160 career 20-point games. This was the first time in franchise history that a Liberty player recorded at least 28 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals with two or fewer turnovers in a game.

Han Xu made the first start of her WNBA career and finished with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks, her first time recording such a statline in a single game. Han scored her 400th point in the WNBA and her 14 points marked the fourth-highest scoring game of her career. She shot 50 percent (4-for-8) from the field and knocked down her eighth made 3-pointer of the 2026 season, already halfway to her career high for 3-pointers made in a single season. Han tied her career high with two blocks for her first multi-block game of the season, and reached double figures in scoring for the 15th time in her career.

Raquel Carrera scored her first points in the WNBA, finishing with seven points, five rebounds and a block while shooting 66.7 percent (2-for-3) from the field. Carrera is the second 2026 rookie to record at least five rebounds and a block before halftime in a game so far this season, and she is the fifth Liberty rookie in the past 10 seasons to finish with seven points, five rebounds and a block off the bench in a single game. Pauline Astier put up six points, three rebounds and a block with a team-high four assists as she made her 50th career field goal. Astier's 62.2 percent effective field-goal percentage is the highest in WNBA history by a player with at least 50 career made field goals. Marine Johannès tied Cappie Pondexter (236) for the sixth-most 3-pointers made in franchise history, finishing with seven points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton led the Liberty reserves with 11 points and a season-high five rebounds. Laney-Hamilton has made at least one 3-pointer in 84 games with the Liberty, tied for the 12th-most such games in franchise history. Leonie Fiebich contributed five points and seven rebounds in the win, while Satou Sabally added nine points, two rebounds and two assists off the bench on 66.7 percent (4-for-6) shooting from the field.

New York out-rebounded Connecticut 14-6 in the opening period and outscored the Sun's reserves 11-2. The Liberty went on a 17-6 run from 6:51 to 1:43 in the first to finish the quarter with a 23-18 lead. New York combined for 31 rebounds between the fourth quarter on Saturday and the first frame tonight, marking the team's highest rebounding total in a two-quarter span since the first half of New York's season-opening win over Connecticut. Stewart scored 10 of the Liberty's 15 points in the second quarter for her sixth double-digit scoring quarter of the season, tied for the third-most by any player so far in 2026, and the Liberty entered halftime with a 38-35 advantage. The Liberty held Connecticut without a single second-chance point in the first half, marking the first time this season that the Sun failed to score any second-chance points before halftime.

The Liberty defense forced six consecutive missed field goals by the Sun to begin the second half, as New York has recorded the league's third-best defensive rating in third quarters so far in 2026. The Liberty went on a 16-6 run from 7:55 to 3:47 in the third and went into the fourth quarter with a nine-point lead, 65-56. New York continued to limit the Sun offense in the fourth as Connecticut finished the game with just three made 3-pointers, the fewest by any Liberty opponent so far this season. The Liberty closed out an 89-80 win by out-rebounding Connecticut 42-28 for the team's fourth consecutive game with at least 40 rebounds. This marks the Liberty's longest streak of consecutive games with 40 or more rebounds since the 2024 championship season, and New York has doubled the team's total of two 40-rebound games from the entire 2025 season in the last four games alone.

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from June 9, 2026


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