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| Courtney Williams drives the lane for two of her 13 points. The fourth-year point guard out of South Florida had 11 in the first half in the Sun's 70-63 victory over the New York Liberty. (Photo by Bob Phillips) |
UNCASVILLE—Jasmine
Thomas led all scorers with 18 points, and Courtney Williams and Jonquel Jones
also scored in double digits with 13 and 12 points respectively to lead the Connecticut
Sun over their archrivals, the New York Liberty, 70-63, before 8,249 fans at
the Mohegan Sun Arena on Wednesday.
It was a rare weekday morning-afternoon
matinee contest. It was also summer camp day, which not only accounted for the
largest home attendance to date for the 2019 season, but also created a carnival-like
atmosphere in the arena with all sorts of positive energy coming from the
thousands of young Sun fans. It was also a homecoming of sorts for some of the
members of the Liberty. The New York roster sports three former UConn stars: Tina
Charles, who was also the No. 1 overall pick by the Sun in 2010, Kia Nurse (drafted
No. 10 overall in 2018) and Bria Hartley (No. 7 overall in 2014 by the
Washington Mystics).
Connecticut led 18-15 at the first turn, but then proceeded
to take its foot off the pedal. The Liberty outscored the Sun 25-18 in the
second stanza, and entered the locker room with a 39-36 lead at intermission.
Connecticut’s Courtney Williams led all scorers at the half with 11 points,
while former UConn and Sun star Tina Charles led the Libs with 10.
As has been the case all season, the Sun came out firing on
all cylinders in the third quarter with the defense leading the way, this time
scoring 14 points while holding the visitors to seven, and taking a 50-46 lead
rounding the third turn and never looking back.“We don’t like to lose,” said Williams of her team’s propensity for coming out of the locker room charging like bulls in a China shop after halftime. “When people start going on their runs, it’s time to turn it up.”
Late in the fourth period, after two failed attempts at the basket by the Sun, the Liberty gained control with a rebound with the game still within reach. Down 69-63 with 31.3 ticks remaining in regulation, New York head coach Katie Smith, the former Ohio State All-American, called a time out to try and rally her troops. But there was no magic wand for the visitors on Wednesday.
Two missed shots and a rebound by the Sun with 9.3 seconds remaining in regulation virtually put the game on ice. Then, former UConn star Bria Hartley fouled Shekinna Stricklen late in the contest. The seventh-year pro out of Tennessee hit one of two from the charity stripe to stake the Sun a 70-63 advantage with 8.9 ticks remaining in regulation.
“I thought we had a shot today,” said Smith, a former All-American from Ohio State. “The third quarter obviously, we told them [Connecticut was] going to ratchet up their pressure, they were going to pound us on the glass. We just didn’t execute or handle that pressure.”
Of course, the Sun defense had something (everything?) to do with that. Indeed, Connecticut held its archrival to seven measly points in the third quarter.
“That kind of put us in a hole,” admitted Smith. “I thought we had our shot today. We have to put the ball in the hole and handle that pressure, but I think we're on the right track.”
“We knew going into this game, New York is playing well,” countered Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller. He was obviously being generous to the opponents as the Liberty had gone 1-3 in its four previous games.
“There were stretches in the first half where they got us out of rhythm with the physicality and I challenged their toughness,” continued Miller. “I challenged [them] if we had the toughness to beat [the Liberty]. Proud that we continue to have unbelievable third quarters defensively... That was the difference in the game.”
Jasmine Thomas led all scorers with 18 points, while Courtney Williams added 13 and JJ 12 for the Eastern Conference-leading Sun, who won their fourth straight game after experiencing a five-game drought, and improved to 15-7 on the season. Charles led the New York charge with 13, and Hartley added 12 for the Liberty, who fell to 8-10. New York has lost three of its last four games.
The Sun are now off for the All-Star Break until July 30 when they will host former UConn star Stefanie Dolson, Allie Quigley, Courtney Vandersloot and the Chicago Sky. Tip-off at the Mohegan Sun Arena will be at 7 p.m. Alyssa Thomas and Jonquel Jones will be the Sun representatives at the All-Star Game, which will be played this Saturday, July 27, in Las Vegas. Former UConn stars Kia Nurse, Tina Charles and Napheesa Collier will also participate in the game, which will be televised live on ABC. Tip-off is at 3:30 p.m. ET.
—with staff reports
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