A late Liberty surge, sparked by Marine Johannes, sinks the Sun as Sabrina Ionescu sits

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Jonquel Jones scored 23 points and Marine Johannes keyed a fourth-quarter run to help the New York Liberty beat the Connecticut Sun 82-75 on Saturday.

New York (22-14) played without Sabrina Ionescu, who tweaked her left ankle in a 85-81 win over Los Angeles on Thursday. Liberty Coach Chris DeMarco said before Saturday's game that Ionescu was day to day and they were being precautionary with her.

The Liberty, who have won nine of their past 11 games, got off to a slow start without Ionescu. The Sun led 27-19 after one quarter. This came after the Liberty gave up 40 points to the Sparks in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game. Jones then got going, scoring 19 points in the first half as New York rallied to take a 46-37 lead at the break.

Connecticut (8-25) hung around and trailed 63-62 early in the fourth quarter. With New York reeling and the shot clock set to expire, Johannes hit a one-legged off-balance 3-pointer to make it 66-62.

That started a 10-2 run by New York to seal the win. Johannes, who finished with 17 points, hit another 3 to close the burst.

This was Jones' last time playing in Connecticut; the Sun are moving to Houston next year. Jones spent six years with the Sun before coming to New York in 2023. The Sun retired her No. 35 jersey in June during the Liberty's previous trip to Connecticut. The 2021 WNBA MVP was a late scratch for that game because she wasn't feeling well.

Breanna Stewart struggled early on, missing her first seven shots before scoring with 2:32 left in the second quarter. She finished with 11 points.

Connecticut also was shorthanded. Brittney Griner missed the game with a left knee issue and Aaliyah Edwards was out with a left ankle injury she suffered on Thursday against Atlanta.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Sun.

Liberty: Visit the Chicago Sky on Tuesday.

Sun: Host the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday in Boston.

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here