Tina Charles propels Connecticut Sun to an 85-79 win over New York Liberty – WNBA Recap
Tina Charles scored a game-high 24 points as Connecticut Sun’s romped to their third straight victory with an 85-79 win over New York Liberty on Tuesday night. The win shot Connecticut into the first place in the Eastern Conference, a game ahead of their conference rival Indiana Fever.
Sun coach Mike Thibault said after the game, “I would hope this game gives us the confidence and a mental image of how we are supposed to play. We were really good for long periods of the game tonight.”
Charles, the two-time WNBA All-Star, also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots. The 22-year-old centre finished the night on an 11 for 20 shooting from the field.
Renee Montgomery recorded a double-double with a game best 10 assists and 13 points while Kara Lawson came off the bench with 12 points for Sun. Danielle McCray had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists while Kalana Greene contributed 10 points and six boards for Sun, who have won three of their previous five games.
Five Liberty players scored in double figures. Plenette Pierson led New York with 18 points and five rebounds, Cappie Pondexter added 16 points, six assists and four rebounds while Nicole Powell pulled down a game best 11 rebounds, scored 14 points and dished out five assists in the loss. Essence Carson punctuated 11 points while Kia Vaughn ended with 10 points and nine rebounds for Liberty, who have lost two of their previous three games.
New York committed 16 turnovers as compared to just eight by the Sun; however, their shooting percentage was better than that of Connecticut. New York shot 45.7 percent from the field and 100 percent from free throw line. Connecticut, on the other hand, shot 43.7 percent from the floor and 70 percent from the line.
Both teams went scoreless in the first minute of the opening period. What followed was a very close game and Liberty eventually managed to carve out a one-point lead, going into the second frame. Sun outscored New York 28-15 in the second quarter and carried a 12-point lead, 47-35, at halftime.
It was the Liberty’s turn in the third quarter as they limited Connecticut to just 19 points and trimmed the deficit to eight, 66-58, heading into the fourth. Sun however struck early in the fourth and stretched their lead to 12 points. They never trailed again.
New York coach John Whisenant acknowledged the struggle of his team and said, "I'm proud of my team, we didn't give up and I thought Connecticut played very well; there is a reason they are undefeated here," "They had 23 assists and we only had one steal which are indications that our defence allowed them to run their offense. You have to give them credit, they did a nice job."
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