Betnijah Laney scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting and the New York Liberty set a WNBA record for points in a quarter while rolling to an easy 101-83 victory over the visiting Indiana Fever on Sunday afternoon.
Jonquel Jones added 18 points and 11 rebounds as New York (16-5) topped 100 points for the fourth time this season. The Liberty connected on 54.4 percent from the field, including 17 of 34 from 3-point range.
Sabrina Ionescu and Marine Johannes each added 12 points for New York. Breanna Stewart had 11 points, Kayla Thornton added 10 and Courtney Vandersloot registered nine points and 10 assists as the Liberty improved to 3-0 against the Fever this season.
Victoria Vivians had 16 points and four steals for the Fever (6-16), who have lost nine of their past 10 games. Erica Wheeler scored 15 points and Kelsey Mitchell added 13 points for Indiana.
Stewart sustained a cut in her mouth after taking an elbow from Indiana’s Aliyah Boston with 3:42 left in the first quarter. She later returned but was just 4 of 11 from the field.
Jones and Johannes each made four 3-pointers for New York.
Indiana made 46.2 percent of its shots and was 8 of 17 from behind the arc.
The Liberty set the WNBA record for most points in any quarter with the 44 they put up in the opening stanza. New York was 15-of-18 shooting in the quarter and led by 27 at its conclusion.
Johannes drained a 3-pointer to open the second quarter to make it 47-17. New York later pushed the lead to 60-26 on another Johannes’ trey with 4:44 left in the half.
The Liberty held a 68-46 halftime lead behind 69.7-percent shooting while making 12 of 19 from 3-point range. Laney had 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the half while Jones had 13 points. Vivians scored 13 in the half for Indiana.
Mitchell hit consecutive 3-pointers to cap a 10-0 run and bring the Fever within 82-62 with 3:26 left in the third quarter. Laney buried a 3-pointer to end the Indiana burst.
New York led 87-64 entering the final stanza and cruised in the fourth, finishing one shy of the WNBA regular-season record for 3-point baskets.
–Field Level Media
