The New York Liberty nearly set two WNBA records in their 100-52 win over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
With a 48-point victory, New York won by the second-largest margin in league history. The record is 59 points, set by the Minnesota Lynx in 2017 with a 111–52 victory over the Indiana Fever.
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The Liberty came close to that margin when an Isabelle Harrison jumper gave them an 85-30 lead with three minutes remaining in the third quarter. New York outscored Connecticut 30-8 in the quarter.
“It was our first third quarter that we executed the way we wanted to,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said afterward. “We’ve been talking about it. [Jonquel Jones] said that was our best third quarter in Liberty history. We didn’t let down, I was happy with that.”
Minnesota also set a record in that 2017 game with a 45-point lead at halftime. The Liberty fell short of that mark with a 32-point margin after the first two quarters of play.
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History was still within reach going into the fourth quarter with New York ahead 90-36. However, the Liberty eased up and scored only 10 points in the final 10 minutes while the Sun scored 16. The team can still say it set a franchise record for largest margin of victory.
New York did tie a league mark that the team set last week with 19 3s in defeating the Chicago Sky, 99-74. Sabrina Ionescu hit 4 of 6 triples, while Jones and Leonie Fiebich each went 3 for 4 from behind the arc.
Ionescu finished with a game-high 18 points, while Fiebich, Jones and Breanna Stewart each scored 13 points. Jones also grabbed 11 rebounds for New York and Natasha Cloud dished out seven assists.
Tina Charles and Jacy Sheldon each scored 10 points for the Sun, who dropped to 1-6 with the defeat. Marina Mabrey and Aneesah Morrow both added eight points.
The win improved the Liberty’s record to 7-0, tying the best start to a season in franchise history set in 1997. The Lynx can match that mark atop the 2025 league standings with a win over the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday night. However, both teams are just over halfway to the 13-0 start by the 2013 Lynx, which is the best start in WNBA history.
