Breanna Stewart scored 28 points as the New York Liberty extended their winning streak to five games with a 89-80 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Monday night in a Commissioner’s Cup game in Uncasville, Conn.
Coming off a 30-point showing that helped New York overcome a 12-point deficit Saturday against visiting Indiana, Stewart made 9 of 17 shots from the field and all nine free-throw attempts as the Liberty (8-4, 3-0 Commissioner’s Cup) shot 47.5% from the field and made 25 of 29 free throws.
Stewart also grabbed nine rebounds, including an offensive rebound of a missed shot by Pauline Astier with 27.4 seconds that led to Stewart’s putback for an 87-80 lead with 24.8 seconds left.
Han Xu started for Jonquel Jones (illness) and contributed 14 points for New York, which survived committing 19 turnovers. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton added 11 off the bench to help compensate for the absence of Sabrina Ionescu (back), who has played once this season.
Aaliyah Edwards and Olivia Nelson-Ododa paced the Sun (2-11, 0-3 Commissioner’s Cup) with 15 points apiece. Saniya Rivers added 12 and Diamond Miller finished with 10 as Connecticut dropped its third straight and sixth in its last seven games.
The Sun were without Brittney Griner (rib) and Aneesah Morrow (leg), and without those two starting frontcourt players, they were outrebounded 42-28 and shot 45.7% from the field.
After a basket by Rivers gave the Sun a one-point lead, the Liberty scored nine straight for a 21-13 lead on a 3-pointer by Laney-Hamilton with 1:43 left and held a 23-18 lead through the opening quarter. Stewart hit six free throws in the final three minutes of the second quarter, helping the Liberty hold a 38-35 advantage by halftime.
New York scored the first seven points of the third and opened a 45-35 lead on Stewart’s 3-pointer following an offensive rebound with 6:57 left. Stewart hit a 12-footer for a 59-47 lead with 2:03 left and the Liberty held a 65-56 lead into the fourth.
Two free throws by Astier put New York up 75-66 with 6:39 left but the Sun kept hanging around, getting within 84-78 on a layup by Rivers with 2:24 remaining.
The Sun missed a chance at getting within four when Miller missed a 28-foot 3 with 1:11 to play, then New York’s Laney-Hamilton also missed a 3 that would have put New York up by 10. Edwards sank two free throws to make it 85-80 with 45.9 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
