Connecticut drops fourth game to New York this season.

Brooklyn, NY (September 1, 2023)- 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 12^th 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.

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.