On Sunday, the New York Liberty defeated the Connecticut Sun. I know what you're thinking when you read that sentence. You're like, "o...kay?" Because the Liberty beating the Sun isn't some shock development. It's entirely normal to see the defending champions beat arguably the worst team in the WNBA.
If I told you it wasn't close, you wouldn't be shocked either. You'd probably guess that New York beat Connecticut by 15-20 points, comfortably coasting to a win.
It was more than that, though.
New York's dominant win over Connecticut highlights the team's strength
The Liberty moved to 7-0 on the season on Sunday in the team's 100-52 win over the Sun.
Yeah, you read that right: New York beat Connecticut by 48 points.
It was the fourth time already this season that New York has won by 20-plus points. One thing you have to do as a good team is beat the teams that you're supposed to beat, and that's what the Liberty are doing.
New York's win on Sunday brought with it a brand new WNBA record for the most players to hit a 3-pointer in a game, as 10 different Liberty players connected from deep.
Of the 11 players to see minutes in the game, only Marquesha Davis didn't connect from deep. Sabrina Ionescu led the way with four makes. Leonie Fiebich and Jonquel Jones made three each. Marine Johannès and Natasha Cloud both drilled a pair, while single 3-pointers were made by Breanna Stewart, Rebekah Gardner, Kennedy Burke, Jaylyn Sherrod and Isabelle Harrison.
Overall, the Liberty were 19-for-32 from downtown.
Defense wins championships, but shooting the ball really, really well doesn't hurt, and that's what the Liberty have been doing.
The team leads the WNBA in 3-point percentage, connecting on 38.6 percent of its 3-point attempts. 40.1 percent of New York's points have come from deep, the highest mark in the league, and the team leads the league in 3-point attempts.
This is pretty wild.
Looking at the history of the league, New York is on track to be just the fifth team in league history to lead the league in both 3-point field goal percentage and 3-point attempts.
The first two — Phoenix in 2006 and San Antonio in 2014 — came at a time before the 3-point revolution necessarily hit the league. But in 2018, Seattle won the WNBA Finals, and in 2023, the Liberty made it to the Finals after leading the league in both categories. Another key to note here is that Phoenix and San Antonio struggled defensively, ranking 14th and 11th, respectively, in opponent points. Seattle and the first Liberty team both ranked fourth, while this New York team ranks first.
Having elite 3-point shooting to go along with a top-five defense feels like a cheat code to making the WNBA Finals. It's no surprise, then, that New York is currently the favorite to repeat as champions. The team's ability to connect at a high percentage on a high volume from deep gives it a huge offensive edge, while the defensive trio of Stewart, Jones and Cloud gives the team a major advantage on the other end as well.
I mean ... how do you stop a team like this, other than just crossing your fingers and hoping they go cold?
Want to know one more thing that should scare opponents?
New York is doing this despite Stewart shooting 18.2 percent from deep. Her career average is 35.4 percent, so theoretically New York could get even better from deep.
Good luck, every other team.