Mabrey has 18 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists to help Connecticut beat short-handed New York 78-62

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UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Marina Mabrey had 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to help the Connecticut Sun beat the short-handed New York Liberty 78-62 on Friday night.

It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Liberty (17-10), who were missing Breanna Stewart. The star forward is recovering from a bone bruise in her right knee. New York also was without Nyara Sabally (knee) and Kennedy Burke (right calf strain) and only had eight healthy players.

The team is in the midst of its longest losing streak since 2022 when the franchise had five-game and seven-game skids. That year was also the last time that Connecticut beat New York at home.

Emma Meesseman joined the squad on Friday and the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP suited up, but didn’t play as she was still getting acclimated to the squad. Coach Sandy Brondello expects her to be in the lineup on Sunday when the teams play again in Connecticut.

For the Sun (5-21), it was a big victory for a young team looking to establish its identity. Reserves Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Leila Lacan each had 16. Tina Charles added 15.

Connecticut trailed 20-15 after the first quarter before getting hot in the second. The Sun took a 44-37 lead at the break when Charles hit a jumper just before the halftime buzzer. The Sun shot 50% from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

The team kept it going in the third and extended its advantage to 56-46 on Mabrey's 3-pointer with 3:36 left in the period. New York, which was playing its sixth game in 11 days, got within 69-62 on Stephanie Talbot's layup with 5:08 left. But those were the last points the team scored.

Sabrina Ionescu scored 23 points and Jonquel Jones add 14 for New York, which had 21 turnovers.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball