WASHINGTON — Liberty guard Marine Johannès knew there would be more of an onus on her to score in the team’s retooled offense this season.
But with the Liberty missing several key players, including Sabrina Ionescu, Johannès felt added pressure to be more aggressive.
Johannès’ commitment to both ends of the floor has paid dividends through the first two games.
Johannès followed her 17-point season opener by dropping a career-high 25 points in Sunday’s 98-93 overtime win against the Washington Mystics.
Through the first two games, Johannès has gone 11-for-22 from downtown.
She became only the third player in WNBA history to drain at least 10 3-pointers in the first two games of the season and joined Nikki McCray as the only players in league history to begin a campaign by making five-plus 3s in back-to-back games.
In the second quarter, Johannès intercepted Rori Harmon’s pass intended for Shakira Austin and then dribbled it down the floor before finishing with a pull-up 3.
That is Johannès at her best.
She was calculated and confident.
She’s been playing freely yet mostly disciplined.
This is the version of Johannès that Chris DeMarco was hoping to unlock this season after she had a challenging 2025 campaign.
DeMarco has given Johannès the green light to shoot whenever she sees fit and the French guard is taking full advantage of his blessing.
“She’s a really special player,” DeMarco said. “She needs to have confidence, and we’re gonna live with the mistakes she makes. And it’s really part of her greatness and her all around game. And I think for her, I just really like the compete-level defensively right now. And I think that carries over to the offensive side, like, you’re doing the right thing defensively, you’re play hard offensively, the basketball gods tend to find you in situations that benefit you and our team really.”
Johannès isn’t the Liberty’s only French player off to an incredible start.
Rookie Pauline Astier has impressed in her first two games.
On Sunday, she scored 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
She also finds herself in elite company, joining Paige Bueckers and Candace Parker as the only rookies in league history to put up a stat line like she did Sunday.
Bueckers and Parker earned Rookie of the Year honors.
The icing on the cake for Astier’s strong showing was the two free throws she made with 12 seconds left to seal the Liberty’s win.
The Liberty are still down to only nine active players (including two on hardship contracts) as injuries and overseas commitments have impacted the team’s roster early.
After Rebecca Allen told reporters last week that she believed she’d be cleared to play by Sunday’s game, the Liberty ruled Allen out for the second consecutive game with left leg soreness.
“She’s still ramping up and it’s been positive the last few days,” DeMarco said. “So she’s not playing tonight but we hope to have her in Portland.”
Ionescu (left foot) and Satou Sabally (cyst) didn’t travel with the team.
The Liberty are also without Leonie Fiebich and Raquel Carrera, who are still playing overseas.
Fiebich and Carrera helped Valencia to a win against Uni Girona to advance to the Spanish League championship.
They’re not expected to arrive in New York until later this month.
