Breanna Stewart tallied 31 points and 10 rebounds as the New York Liberty overcame the absence of Sabrina Ionescu to cruise to a 106-75 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Friday night in Brooklyn.
Stewart, in her fourth season with New York, shot 10-of-17 from the field, converted 11 of 12 free throws, and surpassed the 6,000-point career milestone. Marine Johannes added 17 points, connecting on five three-pointers and shooting 6-of-13 overall. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton returned from knee surgery that sidelined her all last season and contributed 12 points. Julie Vanloo, signed on a hardship contract, also scored 12 points, while Jonquel Jones chipped in 10. The Liberty shot 52.2% from the floor, made 10 three-pointers, and hit 83.9% (26 of 31) from the free-throw line.
New York played without Ionescu (rest) as well as Rebecca Allen (left leg) and Satou Sabally (cyst). Raquel Carrera and Leonie Fiebich were also unavailable while finishing overseas commitments.
For Connecticut, Diamond Miller scored 16 in her debut, Aneesah Morrow added 15, and Brittney Griner finished with 13 in her first game for the Sun. Coming off an 11-33 record in 2025, Connecticut shot just 38.6% overall and went 4-of-22 from three-point range. The Sun committed 17 turnovers that led to 24 Liberty points and trailed by as many as 33.
New York seized control early. A three-pointer by Jones gave the Liberty a 16-4 lead midway through the first quarter. A layup by Vanloo pushed the advantage to 25-8 just over two minutes later, and Jones scored on a layup with 21 seconds left to make it 36-13 after one period.
The Liberty extended the margin to 27 points within the first three minutes of the second quarter. Johannes drilled a 29-foot three-pointer for a 52-26 lead with 3:52 remaining, and New York carried a 66-37 advantage into halftime.
Connecticut briefly trimmed the deficit with an 11-2 run, cutting the lead to 70-50 on a Griner basket with 6:11 left in the third quarter. But the Liberty quickly regained control and closed the period with an 87-60 lead.
