Mabrey helps Sun rebound from big loss by beating Atlanta

Connecticut’s Marina Mabrey (3)  dribbles the ball during the game against the Atlanta in Friday night’s WNBA game in Uncasville. Mabrey scored a season-high 34 points. (Photo by Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images)

Earlier this week, the Connecticut Sun were embarrassed by the defending WNBA champion New York Liberty in a 48-point defeat – the largest in franchise history. New York led by 57 points at one point.

On Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena, the Sun never let the Atlanta Dream get away from them. The biggest lead for the visiting Dream was seven points.

And the Sun veterans came to play. Marina Mabrey had a season-high 34 points along with four rebounds and four assists as the Sun beat Atlanta, 84-86 to win their first home game of the season before 8,078 fans.

Tina Charles added 19 points, pulled down four rebounds, and had two steals while Bria Hartley scored 11 points for Connecticut (2-6).

Mabrey fell two points of her career-high and was her first game over 30 points since the 2023 regular season. She has scored more than 30 points four times.

Rhyne Howard and Brittney Griner each notched 18 points to lead Atlanta (5-3) in scoring. Naz Hillmon added 14 points, three rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes off the bench. Former Sun starter Briona Jones had seven points for Atlanta. The Dream had won four straight games.

The Sun shot 50 percent (33 of 66) from the floor while holding the Dream to 41.2% (28 of 68) from the floor in the game. Connecticut was able to come away with the win, shooting just 3-of-15 from beyond the three-point arc, tying a season-low for three-point field goals made.

The Sun trailed the Dream, 9-8, heading into the first media timeout of the contest. Atlanta then notched six unanswered to take a 15-8 lead with 2:27 to play in the first quarter and force Connecticut into a timeout. The Sun closed the first on a quick 5-2 spurt to close the gap to four, 17-13, heading into the second.

Connecticut began the second half on a 10-2 run to take a 46-37 lead over the Dream and force them into a timeout with 7:42 to play in the quarter. Connecticut led by as many as 13 in the quarter, 58-45, but Atlanta closed the third on a 16-4 run to cut the score to one, 62-61, heading into the fourth. Marina Mabrey notched 12 of her 34 points in the third quarter to lead the Sun.

Notables:

• Bria Hartley added 11 points, four rebounds and a season and team-high six assists in the win.

• Rookie guard Saniya Rivers had another impressive outing, tallying nine points, five rebounds, two assists, a career-high tying three steals and a career-high tying two blocks.
• Prior to Marina Mabrey’s 34-point performance, the last time a Sun player has scored 30+ in a regular season game was DeWanna Bonner on August 24, 2023.
• Olivia Nelson-Ododa finished with a career-high tying three steals.
• Connecticut’s starters accounted for 75 of the team’s 84 points. The Sun’s nine bench points mark a new season low.
• The Sun outscored the Dream in the paint (44-32) and on the fast break (10-9), but the Dream held the advantage in second chance points (11-6).
• Today marked the Sun’s second Commissioner’s Cup game of the 2025 season. With the win, $3,000 will be donated to the ACLU of Connecticut, the Sun’s 2025 Commissioner’s Cup beneficiary.

Connecticut 84, Atlanta 76
At Uncasville
Atlanta (76) Jones 3-8 1-2 7, Griner 7-10 4-5 18, Gray 5-13 0-0 11, Canada 0-7 0-0 0, Howard 6-16, 3-5 18, Coffey 1-2 0-0 3, Hillmon 4-6 4-5, Walker-Kimbrough 0-1 0-0 0, Caldwell 1-4 0-0 3, Paopao 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-68, 12-17 76
Connecticut (84) Nelson-Ododa 0-3 2-2 2, Charles 8-13 3-4 19, Hartley 5-11 1-1 11, Mabrey 13-22 5-6 34, Rivers 4-9 1-2 9, Peters 0-0 0-0 0, Morrow 1-2 1-2 3, Diaby 1-2 2-2 4, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Sheldon 1-3 0-0 2,Lacan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-66 15-19 84
Atlanta (5-3)           17  18  26  15  — 76
Connecticut (2-6)  13  23  26  22 — 84
Three-point goals: Atlanta 8-27 (Jones 0-1, Gray 1-3, Canada 0-4, Howard 3-10, Coffey 1-2, Hillmon 2-3, Walker-Kimbrugh 0-1, Caldwell 1-3); Connecticut 3-15 (Charles 0-1, Hartley 0-2, Mabrey 3-8, Rivers 0-2, Brown 0-1, Shelon 0-1); Att. 8,078