Liberty host Storm after historic quarter

Ten near-perfect minutes was all it took for the Eastern Conference-leading New York Liberty to open their season-high, four-game homestand with a victory Sunday in Downtown Brooklyn.

New York will shoot for its third straight win Tuesday night against visiting Seattle after using a WNBA record-setting 44-point first quarter to vanquish the Indiana Fever, 101-83, in front of 7,371 fans at Barclays Center.

The Liberty (16-5) remained percentage points ahead of Connecticut (17-6) in the East by blowing out the Fever by a 44-17 count in the first 10 minutes of regulation.

“We’ve been talking about just getting more ball movement and not forcing the early one if it’s not a great shot,” New York head coach Sandy Brondello said of the highest-scoring quarter in WNBA history.

“This team is just buying in to how we want to play,” she added. “Forty-four! I mean, I was obviously a spectator after a while.”

By halftime, it was a 68-46 cushion and the Liberty only needed 33 points to eclipse the century mark in scoring for a franchise-record fourth time this season.

“Any time we can move the ball side-to-side and get everybody involved it causes teams to have to play us honestly, and gives us all space to do what we have to do,” said New York forward Jonquel Jones, who finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds before Brondello got her reserves in.

Victoria Vivians had 16 points and Erica Wheeler added 15 for the Fever (6-16), who got beat out of the gate en route to their ninth loss in 10 games.

“If this was a three-quarter game we win by nine,” Indiana coach Christie Sides lamented after the Fever fell to 0-3 vs. New York this year. “You got to show me you’re ready to play every night. Forty-four points is ridiculous.”