UNCASVILLE, Conn. — For a brief moment in the Liberty’s fourth quarter Saturday’s 82-75 win against the Connecticut Sun, there was a thought of “not this again.”
Too often, New York lets opponents hang around too long.
If the Liberty don’t do that, then they tend to fumble mighty leads.
The Liberty should’ve been able to handle the second-to-last-place Connecticut Sun even with Sabrina Ionescu out with a left foot injury.
But nothing about this season has come easy for the painfully inconsistent Liberty.
After surrendering 40 points in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s win against the Los Angeles Sparks, New York was outscored 27-19 by the Sun, who have the league’s worst offense.
New York overcame that slow start, thanks to a strong first-half showing of Jonquel Jones, who set a season high for points in a half with 19.
The Liberty led by as many as 10 points in the second half up to that point, but they never pulled away for good. The Sun used a 5-0 run to trim New York’s lead with 7:05 left in the fourth.
Coach Chris DeMarco called a timeout.
Things started to click for New York after that.
Marine Johannès drained a wild end-of-shotclock 3. Moments later, she fed Jones, who sank a 3-point of her own.
Pauline Astier finished at the cup to give the Liberty an eight-point advantage.
It was the Sun’s turn to take a timeout. But the Liberty managed to hold on for good.
Johannès hit another off-balance 3 down the stretch that left some stunned. She also fired a crazy pass along the baseline to Rebecca Allen, whose 3-pointer made it 76-66.
Saturday wasn’t Breanna Stewart’s night. She missed her first seven field goal attempts and left off the scoreboard until 2:32 left in the second quarter.
Stewart was held to single-digit scoring for only the second time this season. She had nine points, four rebounds and two assists.
This was the last time the Liberty played at Mohegan Sun Arena as the Sun are relocating to Houston next season.
Jones seemed a little more focused and intentional Saturday.
Maybe it was because it would be her last time playing at Mohegan Sun Arena, the place where her career began.
Jones missed the Liberty’s first game in Connecticut after falling ill.
Prior to tipoff, though, she did get honored at centercourt as part of the team’s celebratory “Sun Legends” campaign, with her Jersey pinned up on a wall alongside other franchise greats, including Alyssa Thomas, Tina Charles and Curt Miller, among others.
Healthy this time, Jones soaked up the atmosphere in Connecticut.
She finished with a team-high 23 points and 11 rebounds for her 15th double-double this season.
