Boosted by the return of Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, the New York Liberty pushed past visiting Connecticut 81-79 in a thriller Monday night at Barclays Center.
Stewart made her return to the Liberty line-up after missing 13 games with a knee injury and played 21 minutes, scoring a team-high 19 points. Ionescu came back after sitting out New York’s loss to Atlanta Saturday, dropped in 11 and made the game’s biggest defensive play in the final seconds.
New York (23-15) maintained its position in fifth place in the WNBA standings, a game behind Phoenix and Las Vegas in the loss column. Connecticut (9-28) saw its season-best three-game win streak snapped. Sun rookie Leila Lacan tied a career high with 22 points.
It was a one-point game with 6:17 left in the fourth, when the Liberty seized control with a 9-0 run that included a huge corner three by Kennedy Burke.
Connecticut would answer with a 7-0 run to make it 81-79 with 23.6 seconds left, capped by a pair of Aaliyah Edwards free throws. On New York’s possession, Ionescu milked the clock while dribbling and passed the ball to Stewart in the corner. Stewart’s return pass was intercepted by Lacan, who drove down the court for a potential game-tying lay-up, but had her attempt blocked by Ionescu and the ball caromed off Lacan’s knee and out of bounds with 2.2 seconds to play.
Both Stewart and Ionescu were sharp early as New York dominated the first quarter that included a 12-0 run to take a 15-5 lead. The Liberty advantage would grow to as much as 17 in the first quarter.
But a blowout never materialized. New York went cold in the second quarter and Sun rookies Aneesah Morrow and Lacan, who was playing with a black eye, took over, helping the Sun put together a 7-0 run midway through the quarter and close to 37-36 at halftime.
Connecticut came out hot to start the second half. Morrow had three threes in the third quarter as the Sun took a 49-46 lead and momentum shifted between the two teams.
The third quarter was also marked by a brief altercation between Sun guard Marina Mabrey and Liberty counterpart Marine Johannes underneath the Liberty basket. After Mabrey and Johannes slapped at one another, Connecticut’s Saniya Rivers gave Johannes a two-handed shove. Rivers was called for a technical while Mabrey and Johannes were each called for a common foul.
Jonquel Jones had 18 points and 11 assists for New York. The Liberty are 33-0 when Jones records a double-double. New York won the season series 3-1.
–Field Level Media
