Connecticut Sun beat New York Liberty 72-64 for first regular-season win in rivalry since 2022

Barely 24 hours after an emotional win over the Chicago Sky on Friday, the Connecticut Sun earned their first regular-season victory since 2022 over the New York Liberty 72-64 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Guard Marina Mabrey led the Sun in scoring for the second time in five games with the team, logging 15 points shooting 6-for-14 from the field and 2-for-5 from 3-point range. Connecticut lost its previous three games against the Liberty in 2024, but Saturday’s victory was the first meeting since the Sun traded for Mabrey with the Chicago Sky during the Olympic break. The Sun’s last game before the break was an 82-74 loss in Brooklyn.

As usual, it took the Sun’s offense some time to get going with just two made field goals in the first five minutes of the game, but the team got a spark off the bench from both Mabrey and Olivia Nelson-Ododa. The pair combined for 10 of Connecticut’s 20 first-quarter points, and Mabrey hit the team’s only 3-pointer after it started 0-5 from beyond the arc.

The Sun trailed 25-20 entering the second quarter, though they were helped by New York’s own offensive struggles. The Liberty went 1-for-7 on 3-pointers in the opening quarter, and sharpshooter Sabrina Ionescu missed her first six attempts in the half.

Connecticut dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Liberty 20-13 behind a team-high 11 first-half points from Mabrey, but it was the defense that powered the Sun to an 40-38 lead at halftime. They forced nine turnovers against New York and scored 11 points off of them, while the Liberty created just four against the Sun in the first half. Connecticut never gave up the lead after taking it in the second quarter, but Ionescu shifted some momentum towards New York at the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer from the logo that made it a one-score game.

The Sun defense was particularly effective in limiting New York’s transition offense, which leads the WNBA averaging 12.7 fast-break points per game. Connecticut outscored the Liberty 13-7 in transition, also finishing with 21 points on 19 New York turnovers.

Rookie forward Leonie Fiebich almost single-handedly pushed the Liberty back into the game after Connecticut took its largest lead midway through the third quarter. Fiebich ended a nearly three-minute scoring drought for New York with four consecutive made field goals for 10 points in less than four and a half minutes. But after Fiebich nailed a deep 3-pointer with under a minute left in the third, Mabrey found an answer again for Connecticut with a tough baseline jump shot that kept the team ahead by seven points.

The Sun also led the Liberty heading into the fourth quarter in their July 16 loss at Barclays Center, but Connecticut seemed determined that history not repeat itself. The team went on a 7-0 early in the quarter to cushion their lead, and New York never got closer than eight points in the final minutes. Five different Sun players finished with double-digit points, including a season-high 12 from Olivia Nelson-Ododa in just 15 minutes off the bench. DeWanna Bonner led the Sun on the boards with 12 and added 10 points for her third double-double of the season.

New York contained Sun star Alyssa Thomas more completely than any team this season, holding the triple-double machine to just four points and three rebounds, though she still logged eight assists.