Connecticut Sun (27-13, 1-2) fell to the New York Liberty (32-8, 2-1), 92-81, in Game 3 of the WNBA Semifinals. The Liberty now lead the series 2-1 over the Sun.

The Sun was led by Alyssa Thomas who finished one rebound shy of a triple-double, tallying 23 points, nine rebounds and 14 assists. Her 14 assists set a new franchise record for most assists in a single postseason contest.

1Q- Connecticut trailed New York, 20-10, heading into the first media timeout of the contest. Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Tiffany Hayes each had four points to lead the Sun with 4:04 remaining in the first quarter. The Liberty finished the quarter on a 17-6 run to take a 21-point lead into the second, 37-16. Alyssa Thomas led the Sun with six points and four assists after ten minutes of action. Connecticut shot just 41.2% (7-17) in the first compared to New York’s 65.2% (15-23).

2Q- The Sun opened the second on a 10-7 spurt to close the gap to 18, 44-26, with 5:27 to go in the first half. Nelson-Ododa notched four of Connecticut’s ten on that stretch. Connecticut closed the first half on an 14-10 run to cut New York’s lead to 14 heading into the locker room, 54-40. Hayes led the Sun in scoring with 11 points after twenty minutes, while Thomas added eight points, four rebounds and eight assists. The Liberty shot 59% (23-39) after two quarters, while the Sun were 44.4% (16-36) from the field.

3Q- Connecticut began the second half on a 6-3 run to cut New York’s lead to 11, 57-46, with 6:48 remaining in the third. Thomas, Hayes and DeWanna Bonner each had two points on that opening stretch out of the locker room. The Liberty were able to extend their lead back to as many as 18 in the third quarter, 66-48, but the Sun were able to close the quarter on a 13-6 run to cut the lead to 11, 72-61, heading into the fourth. Thomas led Connecticut with nine points, three rebounds and four assists coming out of the locker room break.

4Q-. New York opened the fourth on a quick 8-2 spurt to push their lead back to 17, 80-63, with 8:18 remaining in the contest. Both teams finished the fourth quarter with 20 points apiece, with the Liberty ultimately taking the 92-81 win over the Sun. Thomas led the Sun in the closing quarter, notching six points, two rebounds and two assists.

New York was led by Breanna Stewart who finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks.

Sun Notes:

• Tiffany Hayes notched 16 points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal.
• Olivia Nelson-Ododa finished with a postseason career-high 14 points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block.
• Ty Harris tallied 11 points, two rebounds, three assists and one steal.
• DeWanna Bonner notched 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocks.
• After losing the first quarter by 21 points, the Sun outscored the Liberty 65-55 the rest of the way.
• The Liberty outscored the Sun in the paint (50-48), in second-chance opportunities (15-13) and on the fast break (15-8). Connecticut outscored New York from the bench (13-9).
• With 10 points in the game, DeWanna Bonner moved into second all-time in scoring in Connecticut Sun postseason history, passing Jonquel Jones (423).
• With 14 assists in the game, Alyssa Thomas moved into 8th all-time in assists in WNBA postseason history, passing Tamika Catchings (236).
• With nine rebounds in the game, Alyssa Thomas moved into 11th all-time in rebounding in WNBA postseason history, passing Brittney Griner and Tina Thompson (323).