Marina Mabrey, Sun hand Liberty fourth straight loss

Marina Mabrey racked up 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as the Connecticut Sun extended the New York Liberty's misery with a 78-62 victory Friday night in Uncasville, Conn.

The defending champion Liberty dropped their fourth straight game and set a season low for points scored. It is their longest losing streak since 2022. Sabrina Ionescu scored 23 points, but New York (17-10) shot just 33.9 percent from the field and committed 23 turnovers.

It was the worst loss yet for the Liberty, considering it came against the last-place team in the league, the Sun (5-21), who entered the night in a 1-5 rut.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa and rookie Leila Lacan had 16-point games off the bench for Connecticut, each shooting 6-of-8 from the floor. Tina Charles added 15 points.

An off-balance 3-pointer by Lacan lifted the Sun to a 67-55 advantage with 7:28 in the fourth quarter. A tip-in by Aneesah Morrow off Charles' miss gave the Sun a 69-57 lead.

The Liberty trimmed the deficit to seven with 5:08 remaining after a 3-pointer by Jonquel Jones and a driving layup from Stephanie Talbot. The Sun regained control down the stretch with nine combined points from Nelson-Ododa and Mabrey.

A Mabrey transition 3-pointer gave the Sun a 56-46 lead with 3:36 to go in the third quarter. Jones blocked Charles but she recovered for an offensive rebound and layup, plus the ensuing free throw, to put the Sun up 63-53 with 2:05 in the third.

The Liberty led 20-15 at the end of the first quarter, but the Sun went on a 14-2 run, capped by a buzzer-beating jumper by Charles, to take a 44-37 lead into halftime.

The Liberty came into the contest 10-1 in their last 11 games vs. the Sun, most recently a 100-52 victory on June 1.

The Sun controlled the glass as they outrebounded the Liberty by 13.