The teams with the top two records in the WNBA meet Saturday afternoon at Uncasville, Conn.
The unbeaten Connecticut Sun are looking to bolster their stellar start to the season, while the New York Liberty have won five consecutive games.
The Liberty have a relatively quick turnaround after Thursday night’s 78-61 road victory against the Atlanta Dream. Breanna Stewart cranked out 25 points and 10 rebounds in that triumph.
“We’re getting better. Are we there yet? No,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “But we’re only 11 games in. I like how intentional we are, how we’re staying poised when we faced adversity.”
The Liberty (9-2) have matched their best 11-game record in team history, achieved in 1997.
“We’ve played some good basketball,” Brondello said. “We haven’t played our best basketball.”
Connecticut has been off since Tuesday night’s 76-59 victory against the winless Washington Mystics. DeWanna Bonner’s 20 points marked the fifth time this season she scored at least that many and the seventh time she has led the Sun in scoring.
The Sun (9-0) are tied for the fourth-longest winning streak to begin a season in WNBA history.
Yet it hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing. They’ve had four games decided by four points or fewer, including one in overtime. A strong second half vs. Washington was encouraging.
“Our ball movement on offense was much better,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “That’s what we need to get to consistently.”
Connecticut has worked center Brionna Jones into the mix this spring after she suffered a season-ending torn Achilles in 2023. She has started all nine games, averaging 13.3 points and 23.3 minutes per outing.
“Having her back out there has been so important,” White said. “It had been so long, you almost forget all the little things that she does. She’s kind of a catch-all at the defensive end of the floor. She always seems to be in the right spot.”
Jones played 22 minutes against Washington and tallied 15 points, boosting her field goal percentage to 63.4 percent this season by going 6-for-8 from the floor.
“She looks like she’s starting to get her timing, her rhythm,” White said.
Since its most recent game, Connecticut signed guard Veronica Burton to a contract for the remainder of the season. She played the past two seasons for the Dallas Wings.
–Field Level Media