WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) - Courtney Williams shots have been falling lately and that’s been a big reason why the Connecticut Sun have been able to keep their winning streak going.
Williams scored a season-high 28 points and Connecticut won its seventh consecutive game, beating the New York Liberty 94-79 on Sunday. She had a big fourth quarter in the Sun’s win over the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday.
“I took momentum from last game and it rolled over to this game,” Williams said. “Knocked down shots and my teammates gave me the ball. I’ve been making shots. I was still taking the same shots doing the same thing, but the balls going through the basket.”
Her coach noticed that Williams has been playing better.
“It’s fun to see her back and find a groove. We haven’t always found that this year and she’s realized it as much as anyone,” Connecticut coach Curt Miller said. “She really carried us tonight offensively at times and put pressure on the defense. We know it’s in there and it just hasn’t been there as consistently this year.”
Alyssa Thomas added 16 points while Jonquel Jones had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five steals for the Sun (16-6).
Connecticut led 29-16 after the first quarter. It was the most points the Sun had scored in the opening quarter this season. New York cut it to 39-32 on Tina Charles’ jumper with 4:30 left in the half. The Sun outscored the Liberty 14-6 the rest of the period to take a 15-point lead at the half.
Williams was 12 for 18 from the field and had 17 of her points by the half, helping Connecticut improve to 12-0 when leading at the break this season.
New York (8-13) couldn’t get within single digits in the second half. Charles had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Liberty, who have lost five of their past six games.
GIVING THE BALL AWAY: New York had 17 turnovers that led to 37 points for Connecticut. It was the second straight game that the Liberty have struggled taking care of the basketball.
“We can’t give up 37 points off turnovers,” Liberty coach Katie Smith said. “That’s 67 points in two games.”
LONG ROAD AHEAD:
Miller said he is taking it one game at a time, but is keeping an eye on the standings and knows that the team has seven more road games left.
“I think we get back to .500 now (on the road). We’ve played the least amount of road games of anyone. This four-game road trip is important. It sets the tone. We have two west coast trips in August. Five games in 10 days and four games in eight days. That’s nine games in an 18-day stretch.”
UP NEXT:
Sun: continue four-game trip in Minnesota on Friday
Liberty: At Chicago on Wednesday.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.