The New York Liberty have a big five, but they only needed a big three to defeat the Connecticut Sun 81-65 Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
With Jonquel Jones in foul trouble and Betnijah Laney playing unselfishly, Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionescu took over.
Jones played 16:27 and scored just seven points, while Laney played a more solid 26:52, but attempted just three field goals, with her only basket coming in the form of a no-brainer-to-attempt layup off her own steal. Meanwhile, Stewart (3-of-6 from three) had 21 points, six rebounds, five assists, six steals and four blocks, Vandersloot (7-of-10 from the field, 2-of-3 from three) had 18 points, six boards, 10 helpers and two swipes and Ionescu (4-of-9 from three) had 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
The Sun (3-1) led by as much as eight and from 6:03 in the first to 6:48 in the third, at which point a Vandersloot three made it 43-41 Liberty. With the Liberty (2-1) up 46-45, Stewart began to take over. She got a steal and passed it to Ionescu for a transition layup that made it 48-45. Not long after she made a three that made it 53-45 and a deep three that made it 56-47. At the very end of the third she was hit in the eye; she sported a bruise for the rest of the…
