NEW YORK — The Connecticut Sun hoped this season would be different from its dismal record in 2025, but the team’s performance in its 2026 opener against the New York Liberty on Friday night felt painfully familiar.
The Sun never had a chance after an 8-0 run by the Liberty forced Sun coach Rachid Meziane to burn a timeout barely two minutes into the game, and the brief reset did nothing to slow New York’s momentum fueled by the electric energy of a packed crowd at Barclays Center. Connecticut was down 20 points before the end of the first quarter, and the Liberty never looked back in its 106-75 blowout win.
“I think we are disappointed with how we played today. We didn’t come out with the energy needed to come out for a game,” Sun forward Diamond Miller said. “We felt like our defense was flat. They were pretty much getting whatever they wanted, and that’s just unacceptable, and that’s something we have to really dive in on. Give credit to New York, they’re a good team, but I don’t know, I feel like we gave them a lot of those opportunities … So we’re definitely going to go back to the drawing board.”
UConn legend Breanna Stewart defended her home court in dominant fashion, leading the Liberty with 31 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in the rout. French guard Marine Johannes was equally unstoppable, knocking down five 3-pointers to finish with 17 points on top of five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Miller was one of the few bright spots for the Sun, leading the team with 16 points, shooting 6-for-16 from the field. Superstar center Brittney Griner struggled to get going against the Liberty’s loaded frontcourt, finishing with 13 points and six rebounds in her Connecticut debut.
Connecticut Sun center Brittney Griner (42) shoots over New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones (35) during a WNBA basketball game in New York on Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
“She’s probably the only one who played our game,” Meziane said of Miller. “We want to play with more ambition technically and mentally, and I think she did that. She took some risks, and she was effective tonight. I really like how she tried to help and support her teammates. That’s something we need to value and encourage for the future.”
The Sun’s inexperience was at the root of its disastrous first-quarter showing, its young players visibly out of sorts against a New York roster stacked with perennial All-Stars and WNBA champions. Connecticut gave up 10 points off of five turnovers in the opening quarter, and they were a step behind the Liberty at every turn getting outscored 12-0 on fast-break opportunities.
“I took a timeout and I said to my players, ‘I know that we are a young team, but right now we are playing like babies,’ so we need to change that,” Meziane said. “We need to play more physical. We probably respected (New York) too much, and we just let them run what they wanted and find these easy looks and layups.”
Meziane threw his trio of rookies into the deep end against New York, running a lineup with all three players on the court for extended stretches in the first quarter. Former UCLA guards Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gianna Kneepkens both experienced their ‘welcome to the league’ moments before halftime.
Leger-Walker’s came late in the first quarter when she went up for a layup that never had a chance of making it to the rim before 6-foot-6 former MVP Jonquel Jones blocked it over the rookie’s shoulder. Kneepkens struggled defensively to handle the Liberty’s pace and wound up seated on the court after a crossover move by All-Star Betnijah Laney-Hamilton early in the second.
Kneepkens had a resilient response at the other end, bringing down an offensive rebound and getting the ball out to point guard Hailey Van Lith, who fed it back to her in the corner for her first official points as a WNBA player on a 3-pointer. It was the first outside shot the Sun made in the game after beginning 0-for-5.
Van Lith got picked up by the Sun barely 48 hours ago after she was waived by the Chicago Sky, and she had a solid showing in her first appearance with the team. The second-year guard was the first player to hit multiple field goals when she knocked down a 3-pointer in the second quarter, and she ended with nine points shooting 4-for-7 plus four assists and a steal.
“I really like how she tried to help the team instead of trying to (prove) what she’s capable of doing, so I appreciate her mindset trying to play in our team offense,” Meziane said. “She played with a lot of courage. She took her shots, she created a little bit … For a player who only practiced one time, we can be satisfied with what she produced tonight.”
The Sun managed to keep pace with New York in the second quarter, only getting outscored by six points after trailing by 23 at the end of the first. But a brutal shooting performance kept them from making a dent in the Liberty lead, especially as they struggled to get stops on the defensive end. Connecticut hit just 38% from the field in the first half to New York’s 56%, and it was 2-for-9 from beyond the arc.
Connecticut Sun guard Hailey Van Lith (2) controls the ball past New York Liberty guard Pauline Astier (18) during a WNBA basketball game in New York on Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
The Sun came into the second half with a burst of energy sparked by back-to-back buckets from Miller. Connecticut led New York 13-4 through the first four minutes of the third quarter, but Stewart killed the momentum with a vicious block from behind as Miller went up for a fast-break layup off of a steal. Johannes then drilled a transition 3-pointer that got the home crowd fired up, though the Sun still managed to outscore the Liberty 23-21 in the third.
“We had flashes where you could see a change in our mindset, and we became the aggressor a little bit, and we started to dictate,” Van Lith said. “But with youth, a lot of times consistency is the issue. So with with this squad, we just have to work on putting those flashes together more often.”
Meziane once again went to rookie-heavy lineups for most of the fourth with New York’s starters off the court. Kneepkens finished with seven points and five boards to lead the team’s first-year players. Forward Aneesah Morrow also joined Miller and Griner in double digits in the final frame, ending with 15 points and six boards.
Former UConn standout Aubrey Griffin also made her WNBA debut Friday just hours after signing a hardship contract with the Liberty. The Ossining, N.Y., native played five minutes and scored her first points as a professional on a driving layup in the final 30 seconds of the game.