UNCASVILLE. Conn. (AP) — Breanna Stewart had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and the New York Liberty beat the Connecticut Sun 92-81 on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five WNBA semifinal series.
Betnijah Laney scored 20 points, Sabrina Ionescu had 16 and Courtney Vandersloot added 12 for New York, which never trailed. The Liberty can close out the series Sunday on the same court.
Alyssa Thomas finished one rebound shy of her seventh triple-double of the season for Connecticut, finishing with 23 points and 14 assists. Tiffany Hayes scored 16 points and Olivia Nelson-Ododa added 14 for the Sun.
The Liberty dropped the opener 78-63 on their home court — their only loss to the Sun all year — but bounced back to win Game 2, 84-77.
They led by as many as 22 points in the first half of this one and by 14 at halftime.
The Sun got within 70-61 in the third quarter on a layup from Nelson-Ododa and trailed 72-61 going into the fourth.
But a 3-pointer from former Sun star Jonquel Jones put the Liberty ahead 80-63 and Connecticut could not catch up. Jones finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Ionescu hit her first four shots, the first three from behind the arc as the Liberty jumped on the Sun early.
Stewart’s only 3-pointer gave the Liberty their first double-digit lead at 20-10.
Stewart, the league MVP, had struggled from the floor in the series, missing her first 11 3-point shots in the first two games. She had 11 points in Game 2 and surpassed that total in the first quarter on Friday with 12, helping the Liberty take a 37-16 lead after 10 minutes.
It was New York’s highest-scoring quarter ever in the playoffs.
Laney gave New York a 48-26 lead midway through the second quarter. The Sun closed the half on an 8-2 run and trailed 54-40 at halftime.
Connecticut guard Rebecca Allen, who had 18 points in Game 1 and six in Game 2, missed the game with an illness.
Both teams are looking for their first championship. The winner will face either Dallas or Las Vegas in the WNBA Finals.
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