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WNBA Connecticut Sun

Sun Fall to Liberty, 89-58

September 1, 2023 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Connecticut Sun News Release


Brooklyn, NY - Tonight, the Connecticut Sun (25-12) fell to the New York Liberty (29-7), 89-58.

The Sun was led by Tiffany Hayes who finished with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal on the night.

1Q- Connecticut trailed New York, 12-9, heading into the first media timeout of the contest. Tiffany Hayes, Natisha Hiedeman and Alyssa Thomas each had three points in opening five minutes. The Liberty finished the quarter on a 15-7 run to take a 27-16 lead into the second. Thomas tallied five points and three rebounds to lead the Sun after ten minutes. Connecticut shot 31.9% (6-19) while New York was 55.6% (10-18) from the floor after the first quarter.

2Q- Each team tallied six points to open the second, with Liberty maintaining their 11-point lead, 33-22, with 5:46 to go in the first half. DeWanna Bonner had all six of the Sun's points on that stretch. New York outscored Connecticut, 16-10, the rest of the way to take a 17-point lead into the locker room, 49-32. Thomas led Connecticut with eight points and four rebounds in the first half. Bonner and Hayes each had six, while Olivia Nelson-Ododa added four points off the bench through two quarters of play. The Liberty shot 58.1% (18-31) from the field, while the Sun shot just 30.6% (11-36) from the floor in the first half.

3Q- New York opened the second quarter outscoring Connecticut, 12-9, to push their lead up to 20, 61-41, with 4:58 remaining in the third quarter. Nelson-Ododa had four of the Sun's nine points to open the second half. The Liberty went on to outscore the Sun, 24-17 in the third quarter, to extend their advantage to 24, 73-49, heading into the fourth. Nelson-Ododa led Connecticut with six points, two rebounds and one assist in the ten minutes out of the locker room.

4Q- The Liberty began the fourth on a 5-4 spurt to take a 78-53 lead with 7:04 to go in the game. New York continued to give Connecticut trouble, outscoring them 16-9 in the fourth quarter and taking home the 89-58 win. The Sun's nine fourth-quarter points marks a new season-low for points scored in the closing quarter. Their 26 second-half points also marks a new season-low.

New York was led by Betnijah Laney who finished with 19 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

Sun Notes:

Olivia Nelson-Ododa finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes off the bench.

DeWanna Bonner added nine points, four rebounds, four assists and one block.

Alyssa Thomas notched eight points, four rebounds and a season-low one assist. Prior to this game, Thomas had tallied 12 straight games in double-figures.

Leigha Brown notched a career-high tying five points and one steal.

Tiffany Hayes tallied her 12th straight-game in double-figures.

The 31-point loss marks the largest loss margin for the Sun this season.

The Sun notched season-lows in points (58) and field goals (21) in the loss.

Team Score Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 PTS REB AST

CON 58 16 16 17 9 Hayes- 11 5 players- 4 Bonner- 4

NYL 89 27 22 24 16 Laney- 19 Stewart- 10 Stewart- 7

NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun begin a three-game home stretch to finish the regular season hosting the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday, September 5 at 7:00 PM ET at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Check out the Connecticut Sun Statistics



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from September 1, 2023


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