In the New York Liberty’s 89-80 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Monday night, the top three scorers were all former UConn players. Breanna Stewart posted a game-high 28 points while Aaliyah Edwards and Olivia Nelson-Ododa each recorded a season-best 15 points apiece.
Stewart has been a force during the month of June, averaging 25.7 points across three games — the best such stretch of her season so far. But after making just 11 of her first 30 shots in the month, she had a far more efficient day
against the Sun, hitting 9-17 from the field (52.9 percent) while going a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line. Stewart also added in nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
“We know that Stewie is one of the best players of the world, we know that we cannot limit her to zero points,” Sun coach Rachid Meziane said postgame. “But she scored a lot of tough shots.”
The Liberty came in short on star power with Jonquel Jones (illness) and Sabrina Ionescu (back) both sidelined. Stewart carried the scoring load in their place, finishing with twice as many points as her next closest teammate (Han Xu, 14 points). Only two other players reached double-figures for New York. Stewart also logged 34 minutes, making her the only member of the Liberty to surpass the 30-minute mark.
On the other side, the Sun were also shorthanded going into Monday’s contest. Brittney Griner (rib) and Aneesah Morrow (leg) both missed out, though Edwards returned after sitting out the previous four games with a concussion. She stepped back into the starting lineup while Nelson-Ododa also earned her second start of the season.
Together, the all-UConn frontcourt did everything they could to knock off the Liberty, who beat the Sun by 31 in the season opener.
Nelson-Ododa started strong with three quick points but then went silent. She didn’t find the basket at all between the 8:14 mark of the opening quarter and the 2:24 mark of the third. Then Nelson-Ododa got hot, piling up six points by the end of the frame. She added six more in the fourth, finishing a perfect 6-6 from the field. Nelson-Ododa also reeled in eight rebounds on the night.
“She played a great game,” Meziane said. “With BG’s absence, she has to take more responsibility… I like how she read the game and how we found her in some post-up situations.”
As for Edwards, she struggled to finish at the rim at times with a 6-15 performance from the floor, but helped spark the comeback bid in the final frame. Seven of her 15 points came in the final 10 minutes, highlighted by an and-one with 6:51 remaining that cut the gap back to single-digits.
“I was just seeing Liv get all these and-ones, and I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m here for one.‘ So it really inspired me to get one,” Edwards said.
The third-year forward didn’t just set a new season-high, it was the most points she’d scored as a member of the Sun. It was tied for the third-best scoring output of her career as well.
“She’s never playing without that energy. It’s something that she will bring every single night. I like the way she played because she’s never cheating, she’s trying to give everything, put everything on the floor,” Meziane said about Edwards.
Edwards and Nelson-Ododa combined for 37.5 percent of the Sun’s entire scoring output, but increased that number to 48.9 percent (22 of 45) in the second half. They also chipped in elsewhere as Nelson-Ododa paced the squad with eight rebounds while Edwards led the way with three steals.
Connecticut trailed by as many as 13 in the second half but rallied in the fourth quarter and pulled within six points on a handful of occasions. However, the Sun couldn’t get it any closer than that until 45 seconds remained, when Edwards drilled a pair of free throws to cut the gap down to five. But from there, Stewart grabbed a pair of offensive boards and finished a put-back to push the lead back to seven with 24 seconds left, which slammed the door on Connecticut’s comeback hopes.
