Liberty Eclipses Sun, 80-72

The shoes of New York Liberty’s Shavonte Zellous are marked with “Orlando United” before a WNBA basketball game against the Connecticut Sun, Thursday, June 16, 2016, in Uncasville, Conn. Zellous is an Orlando, Fla., native and her sister had been at the Pulse nightclub the weekend before the mass shooting. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

The Connecticut Sun hit a dry spell from the field in the game’s final 2:34 minutes and as a result dropped a gut-wrenching 80-72 decision to the New York Liberty last night in front of 4,786 disappointed fans at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The Sun had knotted the score at 70-all on Alex Bentley’s three-pointer but they were outscored 10-2 down the stretch.

“We’re putting ourselves in position to win games, but we aren’t coming up with the championship plays,” said Sun Coach Curt Miller in his postgame remarks to reporters.

Although Miller deflected attention away from the final stat sheet, the Liberty did enjoy a glaring disparity from the foul line, where they attempted 15 (28 to 13) more free throws than the Sun.

The Liberty’s Tina Charles, who tied her career best, led all scorers with 32 points.

Charles was 13-of-25 from the field, tying for the most field goals in the WNBA this season (a mark she already held). The Sun’s Alex Bentley led the team in scoring with 16 points.

“She (Charles) is the most consistent player in this league,” noted Liberty Coach Bill Laimbeer.

“You know what you are going to get from her every night and tonight there was no exception.”

Connecticut’s Kelsey Bone added 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Sun.

“Tonight, I thought we executed a lot of the game plan,” said Miller.

“We didn’t have a great night on the perimeter and against this very, very good defensive team where you have to make some perimeter shots.”

It was the third loss in a row for the Sun who fell to 2-10 on the season.

“We just didn’t come up with enough plays,” said the Sun coach.

“Hats off to Tina Charles, she played great, made a lot of big baskets.”

The Liberty’s Swin Cash reached a milestone in the contest when she surpassed 5,000-career points, becoming the 14th player in WNBA history to do so.

She is one of just two players in WNBA history to have 5,000 points, 2,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists. The only other is Tamika Catchings.

Earlier this week, the Sun lost in triple-overtime to the Washington Mystics, 109-106.

It was the first triple-overtime game in the WNBA since June 1, 2014.

The Sun’s Bentley woke up from an early season shooting slump when as she poured in 31 points to lead the Sun.

SUN SPOTS

The Liberty extended its winning streak over the Connecticut Sun to seven, the longest streak for either team in the series’ history.

The Sun’s Kelly Faris matched a season high of six points.  This is her second time this year she has scored six. The other was back on June 12 at Atlanta.

Cash also moved into eighth place all-time with 2,448 rebounds, tying Lauren Jackson.

Nneka Ogwumike, Chiney’s sister, set a new WNBA standard when she combined for 19 consecutive shots made (12 field goals and 7 free throws) in the LA Sparks 97-73 win over Dallas.

Team USA

The 2016 USA Basketball Women’s National Team will host a four-team, exhibition tournament on July 29 at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Ct.

Australia and France will square off in the first game at 4:30 p.m.

Coach Geno Auriemma and Team USA face Canada in the second game (7 p.m.).

Tickets for the exhibition tournament will go on sale starting June 13.

For complete details go to: USAB.COM/SHOWCASE

In Rio, Team USA will open preliminary round play on Aug. 7 against Senegal.

They are in Group B along with Canada, Senegal and Serbia.

Looking ahead

The Sun will conclude their three-game home stand on June 19 when they host San Antonio (1 p.m.).

The Sun edged the Stars on May 19 behind Camille Little’s 13 points.

The Sun will hit the road for a four-game West Coast road trip where they will face Seattle (6/24), LA (6/26), Phoenix (6/29) and Dallas (7/2).

They will return to Mohegan Sun Arena and play host to red-hot Minnesota and Maya Moore on July 7 (7 p.m.).

The Lynx have improved their 2016 season record to 11-0, which shattered the WNBA record for best start which was set in 2012 by the Lynx (10-0).

The WNBA will begin its 2016 Olympic Game hiatus on July 23 and resume regular season play on Aug. 26.

Follow Bob on Twitter for all the Sun and WNBA news: @WhitneyBob