Breanna Stewart sets Liberty scoring record with 45 points in win over Fever

The superteam didn’t look so super in its debut Friday night in Washington. But now the remade Liberty were on the court at Barclays Center, trying to rebound and make a good first impression on their pumped-up fan base.

One of the greatest players in WNBA history made sure they did with a record-breaking performance in front of the 8,575 at Sunday’s home opener.

The Liberty beat Indiana, 90-73, handing the Fever their league record-tying 20th straight loss dating to last June.

And in this second game dressed in a Liberty uniform, Breanna Stewart fueled the rout with the best scoring game in the history of the franchise and her WNBA career.

The four-time All-Star forward had 45 points, all in the first three quarters, smashing the Liberty record of 40 that Cappie Pondexter posted against Indiana on July 18, 2010.

“It was really important to play like this in my debut because I want people to be here and I want them to come back,” Stewart said. “And I want more. I want more of everything. And, yeah, it sounds selfish.

“But as a women’s basketball player, as a female athlete, we need to continue to kind of get recognized by more in a lot of different ways in media coverage and fans and eyes and viewership. Hopefully I made a few first impressions on some people. And I hope they come back.”

Stewart gave them a shooting show, making a franchise-record 15 field goals in 21 tries, including a career-high six three-pointers in nine attempts, and going 9-for-9 from the line. The seventh-year pro made it a double-double by grabbing 12 rebounds.

The other two among the Big 3 newcomers did their part, too. Jonquel Jones scored 14 and Courtney Vandersloot had 11 points and eight assists.

And Sabrina Ionescu nearly delivered a triple-double, contributing nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

The only downside was a five-point fourth quarter.

“They have a lot of experience on this team and they have a lot of All-Stars,” said forward NaLyssa Smith, who topped the Fever (0-2) with 16 points and 12 rebounds. “When that is jelling for them, they’ll be an amazing team.”

By the end of the first quarter, the Liberty owned a 36-14 cushion and Stewart owned 19 points.

By halftime, Indiana had 35 points and Stewart had 29 of the Liberty’s 62.

“I wanted to come out and set the tone and just be confident,” she said. “When you get in those moments, it just feels like everything’s going in.”

When Stewart tossed in a 13-foot turnaround fadeaway jumper and was fouled with 2:13 left in the third, she surpassed Pondexter’s record.

“I didn’t know I broke really any record,” she said.

The achievement flashed on the video board. The fans chanted “MVP!” at the two-time MVP, who completed the three-point play. It was 82-52.

“We have Breanna Stewart and they don’t, I suppose,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “That’s [what] it comes down to.”