Sun Smack Liberty

By Bob Phillips

UNCASVILLE—Led by a 31-point, 13-rebound performance by Jonquel Jones, the Connecticut Sun trounced the New York Liberty 85-64 at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday night. Brionna Jones added 14 points, eight rebounds and two steals, while DeWanna Bonner chipped in with 13 points for Connecticut.

The Sun led by five, 24-19, after the first quarter led by seven and six points from DeWanna Bonner and Jonquel Jones, respectively. But the Liberty came back to take the lead by opening the second period on a 16-9 tear, which included a 12-0 run.

But then it was the Sun's turn to tear it up as Jones, the Bahama native who renounced the citizenship of her native country in favor of Bosnia Herzegovina in order to play in the lucrative European Leagues, scored 10 points during a key 15-0 run to close the first half and early third quarter that gave the Connecticut a 52-37 lead. From that point, the Liberty, who were held to their lowest point total of the season, never got closer than nine points.

Early in the third quarter the Sun went on a 9-0 run and opened a 15-point lead, their biggest advantage of the contest. The Connecticut defense held New York to 12 points in the third, while the Sun put 19 on the board. The fourth quarter proved to be more of the same as Connecticut opened with an 8-0 run, extending their lead to 20 points, outscoring New York 23-15 in the final frame.

“We understood that they were going to play a ‘small ball’ lineup,” said Jones, the WNBA's Eastern Conference Player of the Month in May. “While it gives them some advantages offensively, we understood that defensively they were going to be really, really small.”

That goes a long way to explain Connecticut's dominance on the boards. The Sun out-rebounded the Liberty 38-22, including 14-3 off the offensive glass. Huge rebound numbers can be misleading, often driven by poor shooting. Such was not the case Saturday as Connecticut shot 43.7 percent from the floor.

“At the beginning of the game I tried to assert myself to get position [in the paint], but it wasn’t really working out,” continued JJ. “Getting on the offensive boards [helped]. The second quarter and the rest of the game we kind of settled in and I was able to get the catches and the touches that I wanted.”

Rebecca Allen led New York, which has lost three in a row, with 14 points. Betnijah Laney, who averaged a career-best 17.2 points and was named the WNBA most improved player last season, finished with eight points shooting 4-for-12 from the field. The 27-year-old small forward from Rutgers had scored at least 20 points in every game this season—her first with the Liberty after stints in Chicago, Indiana, Atlanta and with the Sun in 2018.

“We found our tempo and stayed true to what we thought would work and that was playing through the paint; playing through our size advantage,” Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller said. “We slowed down, and we executed.” In addition to his team's dominance off the boards, the Sun had 22 second-chance points to the Liberty's 2, and outscored their opponents 44-18 in the paint.

With the win the first-place Sun improved to 8-2 while the sixth-ranked Liberty dropped their third straight game and fell to 5-4.

Next up for the Sun will be a match-up with Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm on Sunday at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Tip-off is 2 p.m. (ET) and the game will be streamed live on Facebook. The Libs will travel to Phoenix on Sunday to challenge Diana Taurasi and the Mercury. Game tips off at 6 p.m. (ET) and will be televised live on YES.

JJ To Compete in Euro Tourney

The Sun announced that superstar Jonquel Jones will be leaving the team compete in the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2021, representing Bosnia and Herzegovina. The competition is being held in Strasbourg, France with a berth in the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup on the line. Jones will be temporarily suspended.

JJ will be absent for Connecticut’s four (4) games scheduled from June 13-22. Based on her team’s record in group play, Jones may potentially miss two additional games scheduled for June 27 and 29. The 6-6 forward leads the league in rebounding (10.4 rpg), ranks fifth in points per game (21.6) and is tied for third with Ariel Atkins for three pointers made with 23.

For additional information about the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2021 click HERE. Information on the Connecticut Sun can be found at connecticutsun.com or by cliccking HERE.

—with staff reports #CTSun @Connecticut_Sun #nyliberty @nyliberty #wnba