Connecticut unable to stop Sabrina Ionescu’s first double-double of the season.

Uncasville, CT (August 3, 2025)- Today, the Connecticut Sun (5-22) fell to the New York Liberty (18-10) at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Sun are now 1-2 against the Liberty during the 2025 regular season with their next meeting coming on Monday, August 25 in New York.

Tina Charles finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Following Charles, Aneesah Morrow finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 16 points, a team-high nine rebounds, and two blocks. Rounding out the double-digit scorers were Bria Hartley with 12 points and four assists and Marina Mabrey with 10 points and three rebounds.

The first quarter began with both teams trading baskets, with Tina Charles scoring four of the Sun’s first eight points before the Sun took a timeout with 5:17 left in the quarter. A Saniya Rivers steal and layup put the score at 16-14, quickly followed by an Olivia Nelson-Ododa and-one layup with 2:42 left in the first quarter, 19-16. Within the last two minutes of the first quarter, the Liberty went on a 9-0 run to make the score 25-19.

Leila Lacan came out of the quarter break, stopping the bleeding with a quick four points, bringing the Sun within two points, 25-23. The two teams continued to trade buckets leading into a timeout with 5:45 left in the half, Liberty up 32-29. Out of the timeout, the Sun got two quick stops, but the Liberty responded with a three pointer to put the score at 35-29. Aneesah Morrow responded with two big shots to keep the Sun in it before a three-pointer from Bria Hartley, assisted by Saniya Rivers, brought the score to 39-36 with 2:53 left in the half. The Liberty went on a 6-2 run to make the score 45-38, to end the half.

The second half began with a Tina Charles three-pointer to draw the score within five points, 45-41. The two teams proceeded to go back and forth before Marina Mabrey was fouled on a made jump shot to bring the score back within single digits, 54-46. After a 10-7 Liberty run, Jacy Sheldon made a jump shot to bring the score to 64-55. To end the third quarter, Tina Charles got a layup prior to the Liberty making two free throws, 66-57.

The fourth quarter began with Liberty free throws before Olivia Nelson-Ododa responded with a layup from Tina Charles to make the score 69-57. The Liberty started the fourth on an 8-2 scoring run before the Sun called a timeout with 7:21 left in the game, 74-59. Out of the timeout, the two teams traded baskets before a Bria Hartley three-pointer made the score 78-68 with 5:02 left in the game. The Liberty went on a 7-0 run with the largest lead of the game at 85-71, before the Sun responded with their own 9-0 run. Saniya Rivers made a three-pointer then caused a defensive stop, which turned into an Aneesah Morrow layup, 85-73. Out of the timeout, Rivers scored another layup to bring the point differential back to ten, 85-75, with under a minute left in regulation. Bria Hartley then scored a jump shot with 37.1 seconds left in the game to bring the score to 85-77. The two teams traded trips to the free-throw line before the game ended, 85-78.

The Sun shot 41.2% (28/68) while the Liberty shot 50% (31/62) from the field today. The Sun also scored 19 points off a Liberty season-high 22 turnovers and ended the day with 12 steals. Additionally, the Liberty outrebounded the Sun 35-28.

The Liberty were led by Sabrina Ionescu with a season-high 36 points and 11 rebounds, while Jonquel Jones and Emma Meesseman rounded out their double-digit scorers with 21 and 11 points respectively. Today’s matchup marked Emma Meeseman’s first WNBA game since playing the Connecticut Sun in game 5 of the 2022 WNBA semifinals when Meeseman was playing for the Chicago Sky.

NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun are back in action on Tuesday, August 5 at 10:00 PM ET when they play the Phoenix Mercury at PHX Arena.