NEW YORK -- The New York Liberty opened their 2026 campaign with a celebration of their 30th season, filling Barclays Center with '90s-esque tributes harkening back to the franchise's inaugural year in 1997.
But Friday's game was also about the beginning of something new under first-year head coach Chris DeMarco, and that new era started about just as well as he could have hoped: New York steamrolled a rebuilding Connecticut Sun 106-75, good for the franchise's largest margin of victory in a season opener.
DeMarco, who comes to Brooklyn after spending over a decade as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors, became the second head coach in WNBA history to win by 30 or more points in his head coaching debut.
"We wanted to punch first," said two-time MVP Breanna Stewart, who finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. "Knowing that this is a season opener, home opener, lot of different things, lot of different people here, some familiar people here, but this is us turning the page and turning the chapter a little bit, and focusing on what we have now and making sure that we start strong this season."
The Liberty, who began the season favored by DraftKings to win the WNBA title at +220 odds, were without all-WNBA guard Sabrina Ionescu (left foot) and new free agent acquisition Satou Sabally (cyst). Ionescu will miss at least the first four games and Sabally is considered day-to-day. Left with only seven available players, the team signed two newcomers on hardship contracts Thursday night.
But even with so much roster flux, DeMarco's new offensive system hummed, as his group registered the highest-scoring season opener in franchise history and tied for the sixth-most points scored in any game in Liberty history.
It was only Game 1 -- against a Connecticut team not expected to make the playoffs -- but it was a promising sign for a team that at times struggled to produce on the offensive end last year. New York dealt with a rash of injuries before finishing 27-17 and falling in the first round of the playoffs.
"We just wanted to be connected. We wanted to have fun," star Jonquel Jones said. "We want to come out there against any team and just have that mindset that nobody can play with us when we're playing the way that we're playing and playing at a high level."
New York arguably even left points on the board: DeMarco wanted some of the Liberty's 18 turnovers back, and they only made 10 of 31 3-pointers. But the shorthanded group still shot 52% from the floor and assisted on 26 of 35 baskets.
"We wanted depth and if this [stretch with injuries] happened, we wanted to be prepared offensively and defensively, just keep the music playing, offensively keep the ball moving," DeMarco said. "Really happy across the board."
Players have described DeMarco's system as free-flowing and predicated on spacing, clarity and simplicity. And it looked that way especially in the first half, where the Liberty jumped out to a 36-13 lead at the end of the first quarter before going into the locker room up 66-37.
Jones said she feels the team has learned the new system quickly and was at about 80% in executing it consistently Friday night.
"It just feels really good. It looks exactly the way it feels, which is nice," she said. "So you just get more comfortable. We have new people coming in, and it's a lot of learning curves for them and stuff, but I think we're doing a really good job of simplifying things and allowing them to be able to just kind of plug in and play."
Aside from Stewart and Jones, three others finished in double figures for New York, including Marine Johannes (17 points including five 3-pointers) and hardship player Julie Vanloo. The latter was waived by the Los Angeles Sparks earlier this week but nearly finished with a triple double (12 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds) despite Friday being her first day with New York.
The Sun were led by 16 points from new acquisition Diamond Miller, as well as 15 from second-year player Aneesah Morrow.