Stewart drops 31/10 in Liberty rout of Sun, becomes 2nd-fastest to 6,000 career points

The defending champs were supposed to be in trouble. Sabrina Ionescu out with an ankle. Satou Sabally out with a cyst. Rebecca Allen out too. Liberty signed Aubrey Griffin and Julie Vanloo to hardship deals hours before tip just to fill the bench.

Then Breanna Stewart decided that wasn't going to matter.

Stewart hung 31 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks in 35 minutes — her 16th career double-double — and somewhere in the first half she crossed 6,000 career points. That makes her the second-fastest player in WNBA history to reach the milestone. The Liberty led 36-13 after one quarter. The Sun never got within 25 the rest of the way.

Marine Johannes added 17 off the bench. Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich did Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich things. Final: 106-75. Connecticut, in the middle of a rebuild and missing nearly the entire 2025 core to free agency, looked exactly like the team most people expected. New York, missing two All-Stars, looked like the team that just won a title. Title defense: opened.