WATCH: Sabrina Lonescu's pulls out Olympian shooter Yusuf Dikec celebration

While we had a great time watching Team USA win their eighth consecutive gold medal, it was quite a relief to have our biggest stars back on home soil and again play as members of our favourite teams. At the Paris Olympics 2024, Team USA won the gold medal for the eighth consecutive time as they defeated France in the final match. 

New York Liberty scored the opening 10 points of the game and then held Los Angeles to just 10 first-quarter points to build a 19-point lead. Stewart and Ionescu scored 26 points in the first half, while the Sparks had just 28 and New York built a 29-point halftime lead.

The WNBA returned on Thursday night after a long break due to the Paris Olympics 2024. This break allowed other players who were not competing in the Paris Olympics to travel for holidays. Many stars went on vacation during this time. As the WNBA returned, the New York Liberty defeated the Los Angeles Sparks by a score of 103-68 on Thursday night.

That much became clear during the New York Liberty game, when gold champion Sabrina Ionescu performed a legendary celebration, striking the famous 'Yusuf Dikec stance' and emulating the silver medalist in the 10m air pistol team event a few weeks previously. Following Breanna Stewart, another gold medallist,'s three-pointer against the Los Angeles Sparks in the Liberty game, there was a jubilation. In the 103-68 rout, Stewart scored 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting, having a monster game.

Watch here the video: 

Sabrina hits the Dikec pic.twitter.com/KbvrFITA0m

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) August 16, 2024

New York Liberty set a new record in the WNBA

In just 20 minutes throughout the game, Breanna Stewart scored 27 points, while Sabrina Lonescu, a teammate, added 18 points and six assists.  When there were 2:18 left in the third quarter, Stewart made three straight 3-pointers, and Kayla Thornton added another to make the final score 80–40.

For the third time this season, the Liberty won by at least 35 points, setting a new WNBA record. Additionally, New York led by more than 20 points at the half for the third time this season, an accomplishment only shared by the other three WNBA teams.