Histories were made! The Connecticut Sun vs New York Liberty showdown was one for the books. Well, just not the same kind of story for both sides. The Sun came into Sunday’s clash on a high, riding the momentum of their nail-biter 85-83 win over the Indiana Fever on May 29. Marina Mabrey was the hero that night, lighting it up with 26 points and reminding everyone why she’s one of the most dangerous players in the league. But the celebration didn’t last long. Barely three days later, it all came crashing down…in probably the most brutal way possible. 

And when we say brutal, we mean it. From the moment the ball tipped off, it was clear the Sun had absolutely nothing to offer against this red-hot Liberty squad. By the end of the first quarter, they were down 31-13. And it only got worse from there. The second half was the Liberty just flexing and making a statement loud enough for the entire league to hear.

By the end of it, New York walked away with a 100-52 win, the second-largest margin of victory in WNBA history. Only Minnesota’s 59-point demolition of Indiana in 2017 ranks higher. For the Liberty, it marked their biggest win ever, beating out a 43-point blowout over Washington from 1998. 

The Sun had just two players hit double digits – Tina Charles and Jacy Sheldon, both with 10. Everyone else was basically invisible. But the roughest night of them all has to be for Mabrey. Coming into the matchup, she was averaging 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. She’s the Sun’s second-leading scorer behind Tina Charles, and had just dropped 26 to kick off the week. So she wasn’t supposed to go down like this. And yet she did. 

Mabrey managed just 8 points on 2-of-11 shooting in 28 minutes. But it gets worse. While she was on the floor, the Sun were outscored by 55 points. According to Polymarket Hoops, that’s officially the worst plus-minus in a single game in WNBA history. She was the only player to log a -50 or worse. Now, to be fair, a lot of that’s because she played more minutes than most of her teammates. But still, being tied to that kind of history is bad, especially when your opponent was just having a party from beyond the arc. 

Libs tied their own WNBA record with 19 three-pointers, a mark they already set just a few games back on May 22 against Chicago. By the end of the third quarter, they’d already hit 18. They only cooled off in the fourth, otherwise, they might’ve broken it again. But even with that, this capped off an insane stretch of four wins in six days. 

Moreover, this blowout wasn’t just another regular-season game. It was the first game of the Commissioner’s Cup, the in-season tournament the Liberty are desperate to win after last year’s heartbreak. So they came out guns blazing, and Marina Mabrey just happened to be caught in the crossfire.

Liberty sparks their revenge tour with a 48-point smackdown on Marina Mabrey & Co.

The New York Liberty aren’t just winning, they’re warning the league. Sitting at 7-0 for the first time since 1997, they’re one of only two unbeaten squads this season, keeping pace with the red-hot Minnesota Lynx. With commanding wins over big names like the Fever and Aces, they’re looking every bit like a team on a mission.

But now, it’s revenge time. It’s not just any mission. It’s personal. 

Last year’s Commissioner’s Cup final is still very much a sore spot. The Liberty fell 94-89 to the Lynx, despite a 24-point effort from Breanna Stewart and a strong first half by Sabrina Ionescu. And the one who torched them? Bridget Carleton, who caught fire for 23 points, knocking down six threes. 

She did a bit of everything that night, leading a group of five Lynx players who hit double figures. It was a complete performance that New York couldn’t quite match. And who could forget Courtney Williams walking the UBS Arena flashing money signs as Kayla McBride sealed the win at the free throw line?

The Libs didn’t forget. Not even a little. “We gotta run it back,” Ionescu said, making it clear that the Cup is still on their radar. Coach Sandy Brondello echoed that fire, saying, “We want to definitely go back to the Final again… we just got to get through this game… we have to be ready, can’t have any complacency.”

They have every reason to be confident. The stars are shining – Stewart’s averaging 19.0, Ionescu’s at 17.8 – and Natasha Cloud just picked up Player of the Week honors. But it’s their defense that’s been the real showstopper, leading the league with just 91 points allowed per 100 possessions. Cloud, Burke, and Fiebich have become a nightmare trio for opposing scorers.

So will the Liberty rewrite the Cup ending this year or run out of steam before the final chapter?