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UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Never mind the fact that the Liberty are down three key players and were playing their fifth game in eight days.
That shouldn’t be an excuse for what unfolded in Friday night’s 78-62 loss to the last-place Sun.
On paper, the Liberty are far more talented than the Sun even without Breanna Stewart, Nyara Sabally and Kennedy Burke.
Instead of dominating, though, it was the Sun who took advantage of the travel-weary Liberty (17-10), who committed a season-high 23 turnovers and were outrebounded 42-29.
Sabrina Ionescu nonetheless defended her team’s performance. Unlike Monday’s abysmal showing, which resulted in an impassioned postgame meeting, she said the team played with far better effort.
“I’d say this was Liberty basketball,” said Ionescu, who had 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists. “The way that we came out, the score might not depict it, but I’d say the effort, the energy, the intention, how locked in we were, there’s no complaints on that end. I think everyone is out there trying their best.”
The Liberty may have punched first by jumping to an 18-9 lead early.
But with the shortened rotation because of injuries and the wear-and-tear of this grueling stretch of the schedule, fatigue settled in for the Liberty. The Sun capitalized.
It resulted in an overall sloppy and lethargic showing by the defending champions, who remain No. 2 in the league standings despite a four-game losing skid but with the Dream, Mercury and Storm creeping up.
Connecticut (5-21) was the aggressor for the final three quarters. Defensively, the Sun clogged the paint and were disruptive, especially when fighting through screens on the perimeter.
When the Liberty did generate good looks, the shots didn’t fall.
“We took our foot off the gas just a little bit, and it gave them some confidence,” said Jonquel Jones, who posted 14 points and six rebounds. “They started blowing up a lot of our actions… they were really physical with us, and it kind of messed up our timing and got us on our back foot a little bit. I think it helped them to kind of turn the game around.”
The Liberty were outscored by 21 points over the final three quarters.
Sun reserves Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Leila Lacan outscored the Liberty’s bench 32-16.
The Liberty shot 33.9 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from deep, while the Sun collectively shot 40.6 percent from the field.
“We got a little bit more passive, but they got a little bit more aggressive, and it took away our being assertive with what we want to do,” coach Sandy Brondello said. “They were flying everywhere, everything was a little harder for us and [we] couldn’t get the job done, so now it’s an opportunity to go back and try and win on Sunday.”
The Liberty have another crack at Connecticut on Sunday to wrap up this road trip. It’ll be the Liberty’s sixth game in 10 days.
