Facing the defending WNBA champion Liberty in New York, the lights were too bright for the expansion Valkyries on Tuesday night.

Things went from bad to worse to abysmal during a first half that saw the visitors make just 9 of 35 first-half shots.

Despite a spirited third quarter push that cut the deficit from 22 to 11, the Valkyries fell 95-67 at Barclays Center to the undefeated Liberty (4-0).

Bay Area native Sabrina Ionescu scored eight points, had six assists and grabbed five rebounds, flashing the well-rounded skillset that made her a superstar at Miramonte High School. She keyed a quick-strike attack that outscored the Valkyries 21-12 on the fast break and 40-16 in the paint.

“We’re not just giving up 2s when we threw the ball away, especially when it’s live ... we were giving up 3s,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said after watching her team commit 23 turnovers and give up 14 3-pointers.

Former Liberty forward Kayla Thornton, who received her championship ring before tipoff, scored 13 points for Golden State.

“I’m not a very emotional person, but I’ve been crying ever since we landed in New York three days ago,” Thornton said of returning to her former home. “There’s a lot of mixed emotions, but happy.”

Veronica Burton also scored 13 for the Valkyries.

Breanna Stewart led all scorers with 24 points, and Marine Johannes scored 18 and made six 3-pointers.

Golden State (2-2) missed the firepower of veteran guard Tiffany Hayes, who was out with a nose injury sustained in the first half of the Valkyries’ victory over the Mystics last week.

Despite missing their best player, the Valkyries entered Tuesday’s matchup with some momentum, having won consecutive games against Washington and Los Angeles.

That momentum was crushed immediately.

The Valkyries shot 2 of 18, while their adversaries cruised to a 27-10 advantage after one quarter.

Liberty superstar Stewart was unstoppable early on, scoring the team’s first nine points as Valkyries wing Janelle Salaün struggled to keep up.

Whether Golden State ran a 2-3 zone or an aggressive man-to-man, nothing slowed down Stewart or Johannes, who made three consecutive 3-pointers in the second quarter.

The Valkyries’ defense did stiffen to end the second half, holding the Liberty scoreless for the final three minutes.

Unfortunately for Golden State, New York already led by 21 and the Valkyries could only muster one basket of their own as they went into halftime down 48-29.

“We threw a lot of different schemes out there today too, and I would say we followed it maybe 50% of the time,” said Nakase, who added that the team should have scrimmaged more and rested less over the last several days. “We’ve got to pay better attention to the details.”

Golden State’s third-quarter push was powered by the team’s ability to draw fouls, which put former MVP Jonquel Jones on the bench with four infractions midway through the frame.

When Carla Leite sliced to the rim for a lefthanded layup with 2:08 left in the third, Golden State trailed by just 11.

However, New York responded with a quick flurry to push the lead back to 16 to end the quarter, and the Valkyries never seriously threatened the Liberty in the fourth quarter.

The Valkyries will not be leaving New York immediately. They’ll play a rematch against the Liberty on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.