Chris DeMarco era officially underway as Liberty dominate Sun in season opener

Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News on May 8, 2026

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NEW YORK — That’s how you start off the WNBA’s 30th season.

The Liberty, one of the league’s original franchises, kicked off the 2026 campaign with a 106-75 win over the Connecticut Sun at Barclays Center on Friday night.

The blowout victory officially began the Chris DeMarco era in Brooklyn — and it showcased everything you could ask for.

The game started with a stellar first quarter in which the home team scored 36 points, which marked the franchise’s highest-scoring first quarter since 2023, per the team.

The highly-touted new offense was on full display — albeit against a rebuilding Sun team — with guards running pick-and-rolls that led to paint touches and open looks around the perimeter.

And Betnijah Laney-Hamilton welcomed Sun rookie Gianna Kneepkens to the WNBA with a crossover that floored the first-round pick. Laney-Hamilton, of course, drained the jumper with Kneepkens picking herself up off the hardwood.

Breanna Stewart led all scores with 31 points while recording 10 rebounds, two assists and three blocks. She became the second-fastest player (293 games) to reach 6,000 points after the performance.

Each Liberty starter — except Pauline Astier — scored in double figures Friday.

The performance was so dominant that Julie Vanloo, who inked a hardship contract and arrived in New York shortly after midnight, was on triple-double watch by halftime, hours after meeting her new teammates.

She later finished with 12 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.

The game was essentially over after two periods with the Liberty up, 66-37.

The lone bright spots for Connecticut were jumbotron tributes for two ex-Liberty members: Kennedy Burke and head athletic trainer Terri Acosta. Burke logged four points, three rebounds and three assists in her Barclays Center return.

With the additions of Vanloo and New York native Aubrey Griffin, DeMarco had only nine players available.

He deployed a starting lineup of Astier, Marine Johannes, Jonquel Jones, Stewart and Laney-Hamilton. The combination dominated on both sides of the floor. They met not much resistance on offense with the French duo on ballhandling duties.

Johannes and Astier combined for 22 points and seven assists on the night.

The Liberty players let off the gas pedal a bit after winning the first half 66-37. They got the slight edge in the last two periods,40-38.

But, it was all cosmetic at that point.

DeMarco and his team look to go 2-0 when they face the Washington Mystics on the road Sunday.