THE LATEST STORYLINES ON THE SUN
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST THE LIBERTY
In their 2022 season opener on May 7, the Sun fell in a close battle with the Liberty, 81-79. The Sun trailed by as many as 11, but fought their way back into the game, only to fall in the final minutes. Alyssa Thomas led the way for Connecticut with 25 points, seven rebounds, two assists and four steals. Jonquel Jones added 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in the effort.
BACK IN THE STATES
WNBA veteran and Sun guard-forward, DeWanna Bonner, returned to the team this weekend. This past week, she finished her overseas commitment with CBK Mersin, falling short in the Turkish League Finals to Fenerbahce, 3-0. Bonner averaged 15.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks for Connecticut in 2021 and is looking to pick up where she left off in her 13th season in the WNBA.
LEAGUE LEADERS
As of games through 5/16, the Sun lead the league in rebounding (39.5 per game), fast break points (17.5 per game) and points in the paint (42.0 per game). Connecticut also leads the WNBA in defensive rating (78.9). The Sun are second in steals (12.0 per game) and in secondchance points (15.5 per game). After two weeks of action, Alyssa Thomas leads the WNBA in scoring averarging 24 ppg. Thomas also is fifth in steals per game (2.5), tied for sixth in rebounds per game (9.0), and second in field goal percentage (60.6%). Jonquel Jones is fourth in the league for rebounds per game (9.5), tied for seventh in steals per game (2.0) and tied for eighth in blocks per game (1.5). Brionna Jones is currently tied for second in the WNBA for steals per game (3.0) and tied for eighth in blocks per game (1.5).
ALL-TIME RECORD VS OPPONENT (OVERALL)
OVERALL 46-40
HOME 27-16
AWAY 19-24
2022 0-1
NY Liberty MATCHUP QUICK HITS
• Tuesday night’s contest will mark the New York Liberty’s 87th all-time regular season meeting against the Connecticut Sun – including their matchups during the four seasons the Sun franchise originally spent as the Orlando Miracle. The two franchises have also met seven times in the postseason with their last meeting coming in the 2012 Eastern Conference Semis.
• Against the Sun, the Liberty are 40-46 (.465) in their all-time regular season series.
• Bec Allen will rejoin the Liberty lineup after returning from her overseas season with Valencia Basket in Spain. Allen posted a career-best campaign in 2021 with New York, finishing with 9.2 points and 1.1 assists in 24.2 minutes per game. Bec was also the WNBA’s leader in blocks per game amongst guards (1.3), and No. 5 in steals per game (1.7) last
season.
• Last game, Sabrina Ionescu spearheaded New York’s offense, tallying a team-high 17 points, seven rebounds, and six assists – her 16th-career game of at least 10 points, five assists, and five rebounds.
• Han Xu notched her second double-digit scoring effort of the season with a 10-point outing. Natasha Howard and Betnijah Laney added 14 points and 13 points, respectively.
• New York also set a season-high in assists with 18 and won the points in the paint battle for the first time this season.
• The Liberty last played the Sun in their season opener on May 7 in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center in the first game of their three-game season series, where the Liberty came away with an 81-79 victory.
• En route to snapping New York’s nine-game losing streak against Connecticut in the opener, four Liberty players scored in double figures: Sabrina Ionescu (25), Natasha Howard (16), Sami Whitcomb (15), and Jocelyn Willoughby (13).
• Sabrina Ionescu tallied her fourth-career game of at least 25 points and five assists in the contest. This all-around performance was further highlighted by her four rebounds, two steals, and her efficient 55.5% (10-18) shooting from the field and 50% (3-6) shooting from behind the three-point arc.
• Natasha Howard starred on the defensive end in the opener with her stymying defense on Jonquel Jones. Howard the held the reigning MVP to 23.1% (3-13) in the halfcourt in the Liberty’s opener against the Sun. All six of Jones’ turnovers occurred with Natasha as her primary defender.
• Jocelyn Willoughby – who will not be available on Tuesday (R. Knee) – was crucial down the stretch with her clutch rebounding as she tallied 13 points on 50% (5-10) shooting from the field and five rebounds.
• In 2018, Betnijah Laney appeared in 29 games with the Sun, averaging 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game on 47.1% shooting from the field. Having missed the season opener, Laney will look to come out strong in her series debut.
• After being drafted in 2020 with No. 19 overall pick and later waived by the Storm, Joyner Holmes signed with New York and appeared in 19 games for the Liberty as a rookie. That season, Holmes tied DeTrina White’s Liberty single-game rookie rebounding record against the Mercury on September 5th when she tallied 13 boards in the first-ever 13-point, 13-rebound game by a rookie.
