Connecticut Sun go on a late charge to down New York Liberty 92-77 – WNBA Recap
The Connecticut Sun defeated the New York Liberty here on Sunday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena. This was the second straight victory for the Sun in as many games they have played to open the season.
Tina Charles led the way for the Sun with 25 points and 11 rebounds in the game. Only in her 3rd season, this was the 47th time in her career that she had scored both points and rebounds in double figures.
Cappie Pondexter was the leading scorer for the Liberty, scoring 18 points and adding 4 assists and 3 rebounds to go with it.
The Liberty started the game with an 8-0 run and outscored the Sun 24-15 in the first period. Connecticut responded back with an 8-2 spurt to open the 2nd period and cut Liberty’s lead to 3 points. They then took the lead for the first time in the game with a layup by Renee Montgomery. That layup sparked a 7-0 run late in the period to put the Sun up 44-38. The first half finished with the Suns leading by 44-40.
Connecticut maintained the lead for much of the third quarter and extended it to 9 through back to back points by Mistie Mims and Montgomery. The lead grew to 67-59 at the close of the third period.
Liberty tried to come back into the game in the final period and opened it with an 8-2 run, reducing the Sun lead to 69-67. But Connecticut were not ready to give up their lead, and replied with a 9-0 run of their own to bring the lead back up to 11. They extended their advantage to 18 with an alley oop by Charles with 1:35 left in the game and held on to win 92-77.
Asjha Jones assisted Charles with 20 points and 8 rebounds, while Montgomery came off the bench to score 15 points and 6 assists. Plenette Pierson of the liberty scored 16 points and grabbed 5 rebounds, while Pondexter led the Liberty scoring with 18 points and dished 4 assists in the process. Kara Braxton had 11 points and 4 rebounds for the night.
“It's definitely maturity. Especially the core players of this team, just us playing together for three years, we know where we are going to be. We believe in each other and know we can dig ourselves out of this” said Charles.
“When we have a team like this and a group of girls that believe in you and give you confidence, especially with the coaching staff, it makes (the game) easier” she added
Connecticut shot 44.9% from the field and 26.7% from the distance as compared to Liberty, who shot 42.6% from the field and 23.5% from the distance. The Sun were 26 of 29 from the foul line while the Liberty went 15 of 22. Liberty scored 48 points in the paint as compared to 36 for the Sun. But the Sun had the advantage in scoring as two of their starting five had 20 or more points for the night.
Tags: