The New York Liberty's full offensive potential was on display on Sunday afternoon against the Indiana Fever when they recorded the highest-scoring single quarter in WNBA history by pouring in 44 points in the opening frame. Though they couldn't quite maintain that pace, they cruised to a 101-83 win to improve to 16-5 on the season.
It certainly helped that the Liberty were playing a Fever team that entered the game with the worst defensive rating in the league (106 points allowed per 100 possessions), but even so, it was a stunning showing. They shot 15-of-18 from the field in the first quarter, including 6-of-8 from 3-point land.
"I was just a spectator after a while," head coach Sandy Brondello said. "I'm like 'OK this looks pretty good.'"
The Fever simply had no answer for the Liberty's player and ball movement. Time and again they created open looks with sharp cuts, hard screens, smart passing and brilliant individual talent. They assisted on 12 of their 15 made field goals, seven players made at least one shot and all but one make was either in the paint or behind the arc.
"Any time we can move the ball side to side and get everybody involved, it causes teams to have to play us honestly and give us all space to do what we have to do," Jonquel Jones said.
44 POINTS IN THE FIRST QUARTER FOR THE NEW YORK LIBERTY ‼
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 23, 2023
Yup, you read that right, the @nyliberty dropped 44 PTS in the 1Q, a new franchise record 👏 pic.twitter.com/2qsHluMWZj
The Liberty have been one of the best offensive teams in the league all season, which was expected when they added Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot in the winter. Rarely, though, have they looked as in sync as they did in the first quarter on Sunday.
For the game, the Liberty shot 54.4% from the field and assisted on 29 of their 37 made field goals. Six different players scored in double figures, with Betnijah Laney (22 points) and Jones (18 points, 11 rebounds) leading the way. Courtney Vandersloot just missed out on the double-digit scoring club with nine points but got there in the assists department with 11.
Prior to the Liberty's historic effort, the previous record for points in a quarter was 42, set by the Chicago Sky in 2019 -- coincidentally against the Liberty.
