For one night at least, Sun find a way to beat Liberty

Connecticut’s DiJonai Carrington #21 of the Connecticut Sun goes to the basket in Saturday night’s WNBA game in  Brooklyn, New York.  (Photo by Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images)

Playing their fourth game in six days, the Connecticut Sun finally beat the New York Liberty on Saturday night in Brooklyn, 72-64 before a sellout crowd of 13,098 at the Barclays Center.

Newly-acquired guard Marina Mabrey showed why the Sun traded for her from Chicago  at mid-season with a team-high 15 points off the bench while Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored a season-high 12 points as the Sun snapped New York’s eight-game winning streak.

With the victory and an Indiana loss to Minnesota, the Sun (22-7) clinched a playoff berth in the upcoming WNBA playoffs for the eighth straight season – the longest current streak in the league.

Connecticut also showed that they could beat the Liberty, currently the top team in the league with a 25-5 record. The Sun had dropped nine straight games to New York and were 1-10 in their last 11 games against the Liberty.

The Sun began the week on Monday in Boston playing before a sellout crowd of more than 19,000 to beat the Los Angeles Sparks before falling to Atlanta on Wednesday in Georgia. Connecticut rallied in the final minute to beat Chicago on Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena before heading to Brooklyn on Saturday night.

“We played with multiple levels of effort,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “We made hustle plays. We contested shots. We finished plays. We made big plays when we needed to. To get big production off our bench was huge. We will continue to need that.”

Bonner had 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds while DiJonai Carrington had 13 points. Brionna Jones scored 11 points.

“Her (Bonner) ability to get defensive (rebounds) was huge,” White said. “It won the game for us.” All 12 rebounds Bonner grabbed were defensive rebounds following missed shots from the Liberty.

For New York, Breanna Stewart had 15 points and a game-high 15 rebounds while Sabrina Ionescu added 12 points.

Mabrey led the Sun in scoring for the second straight game.

“We didn’t have to slow down or teach her anything,” Bonner said. “She just fit right in. We’re asking a lot of her in our system. We’re lucky to have her. She takes pressure off everyone else because we have someone who can put the ball in the net.”

Added White, “Not only does she give us a shotmaker but the spacing on the floor is totally different with her. Now we have two people(at the guard spot) they have to guard and it allows to do more offensively.”

After being outscored 25-20 in the first quarter, the Sun outscored the Liberty, 52-39, in the final three quarters. The Sun held the Liberty to 22.2 points under their season average as the Liberty entered the game averaging 86.2 points per game- second best in the WNBA. The Sun shot 41.7% (30-72) from the field while holding the Liberty to 36.9% (24-65) from the floor on the night.

In the second half, Connecticut opened up the third quarter with an 11-4 run to take a nine-point lead, 51-42 with 6:13 left in the third period.

New York cut the lead to six but the Sun had a seven-point lead after three quarters, 59-52.

Connecticut began the fourth quarter on a 7-1 run to push their lead up to 13 points, 66-53, with 5:46 to play in the game. New York responded on a 5-0 run to close the gap to eight, 66-58, with 4:47 remaining in the quarter but that was as close at it would get.

Notables:

• Brionna Jones notched her ninth straight outing in double-figures, marking the third longest 10+ point outing streak of her career.
• With 12 rebounds on the night, Bonner moved into ninth all-time in rebounding in WNBA history, passing Taj McWilliams-Franklin. She also moved into eighth all-time in rebounding in Sun history, passing Katie Douglas.
• New York grabbed 44 rebounds, marking the most rebounds a Connecticut opponent has tallied this season.
• Alyssa Thomas dished out eight assists in the win, marking her third straight game tallying 8+ assists. It marked the 19th time she notched at least seven assists in a game this year, which leads the WNBA.
• The Sun outscored the Liberty in the paint (46-28), on the fast break (13-7) and from the bench (29-6). The Liberty held the advantage in second chance opportunities, 13-8.
• The Sun lost seven straight regular season games to New York. Their last regular season win came on July 19, 2022. The Sun beat New York in game one of last year’s WNBA semifinals but lost the series, 3-1.

Connecticut 72, New York 64
At Brooklyn, N.Y.
Connecticut (72) Bonner 5-11 0-1 10, Thomas 2-5 0-0 4, Jones 4-10 3-4 11, Carrington 6-14 1-4 13, Harris 2-6 1-2 5, Mabrey 6-14 1-1 15, Burtion 0-4 2-2 2, Nelson-Ododa 5-8 2-3 12. Totals 30-72 10-17 72
New York (64) Fiebich 5-7 2-2 14, Stewart 7-15 0-0 15, Jones 4-10 1-2 10, Ionescu 3-13 4-5 12, Vandersloot 3-8 0-0 7, Thornton 0-5 0-0 0, Sabally 1-2 1-1 3, Dojkic 0-1 0-0 0 0, Burke 1-4 1-2 0, Sherrod 0-0 0-0 0, Davis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-65 9-12 64
Connecticut (22-7)    20  20  19  13  — 72
New York (25-5)            25  13  14  12  — 64
Three-point goals: Connecticut 2-13 (Bonner 0-3, Carrington 0-2, Harris 0-2, Mabrey 2-5, Burton 0-1), New York 7-32 (Fiebich 2-3, Stewart 1-4, Jones 1-3, Ionescu 2-12, Vandersloot 1-3, Thornton 0-3, Burke 0-3, Dojke 0-1). Att: 13,098 (sellout)