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Courtney Williams led all scorers with 26 points in the Sun’s
94-84 victory
over the Liberty. (Photo by Steve Freeman/NBAE/Getty Images) |
By Bob Phillips
WHITE PLAINS, NY—The Sun broke out the brooms on Friday
night when, led by Courtney Williams (26 points) and Alyssa Thomas (20 points,
nine boards), the Connecticut Sun defeated the New York Liberty, 94-84, before just
1,791 fans at the Westchester County Center.New York opted to rest former UConn
and Sun star Tina Charles, a victim of the grueling year-round schedule endured
by most WNBA players. Charles has played 946 minutes in 30 WNBA games this
season. She also plays in China in the WNBA’s offseason.
The Sun grabbed a 28-19 lead at the first turn and held on to that
nine-point advantage at halftime. The Liberty game out of the locker room on a
tear, opening the third period with an 11-3 run, aided by not one, not two, but
three technical fouls called on Connecticut. The first two were on Alyssa
Thomas and Jasmine Thomas, while the third “T” was called on Sun head coach and
GM Curt Miller. Former UConn star Kia Nurse calmly sunk all three freebies.
The third period, normally Connecticut’s strongest, didn’t play
out that way on Friday as the Liberty went on a 21-7 tear to take a four-point
lead, 61-57, with 2:20 remaining in the stanza. But the Sun went on a 10-0 run
of their own, taking a 67-61 lead at the third pole and never looking back.
Marine Johannes, the French national star, led New York with 21
points. Nurse added 15 points and had three assists, and 6-9 Chinese national Han
Xu added 12 points, her WNBA career high. Canadian national star Nayo
Raincock-Ekunwe started for the first time this season, and added a career-high
10 points and grabbed a career-high seven boards for New York, which fell to
9-22.
Jonquel Jones (12 points) and Jasmine Thomas (10) also scored in
double digits for Connecticut.
With the win, the Sun improve to 22-9, while New York falls to
9-22. It was also the Sun’s third victory over the Libs, finishing the season
3-0 vs. their closest rivals. (Tack on two preseason wins, and Connecticut is
5-0 on the season vs. New York.) Connecticut assured itself of finishing no
lower than the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. The Sun currently trail the 22-8
Washington Mystics by one-half game for the No. 1 seed. The Mystics play at
Dallas on Saturday night.
The two teams with the best record (regardless of conference
affiliation) receive byes in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Both of the
first two rounds are one-and-done variety, so it’s imperative for the Sun to
finish in the top two to avoid that perilous scenario where one bad night can
end the season.
Next up for the Sun is a date at home vs. the 10-20 Dallas Wings
on Wednesday. Tip-off at the Mohegan Sun Arena will be at 7 p.m. For fans
unable to attend, the game will be televised on NESN+ and CBS Sports Network. Connecticut
will then wrap up regular-season play with a home game against the Chicago Sky
on Friday and at Indiana next Sunday.
Beyond the Arc
- With her 15-point performance, Kia Nurse has scored in double figures in four of the last five games.
- Han Xu, the Lib’s “gentle giant,” was a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point land on Friday.
- Asia Durr also sat out the game for New York with a groin injury.
- In the first half, Connecticut was en fuego, shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Courtney Williams scored 12 points, tying Marine Johannés for the first-half high.
- Talk about swings… New York led by as many as five in the first quarter and trailed by as many as 13 in the first half.
- Connecticut shot 50.7 from the field (24-57), including 7-for-13 (53.8 percent) from beyond the three-point arc.
- New York enjoyed a good shooting night, as well. The Libs went 33-for76 from the field (43.4 percent), including 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) from 41.7 percent from beyond the arc.
- Indeed, a fourth technical was called in the third quarter this one against former UConn star Bria Hartley of the Liberty.
—with staff reports
#ctsun / @ConnecticutSun / #wnba / @wnba / @nyliberty / @MarineJ5 / @
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