Liberty vs. Sun: Breanna Stewart Scores 28, Han Xu Shines in First Career WNBA Start on Jonquel Jones' Night

Connecticut retired Jonquel Jones' No. 35 at Mohegan Sun Arena before Monday's game, and then Jones did not play in it. A late scratch, on her own night, which is the kind of plot twist a screenwriter would get notes about. It left the Sun with a sentimental evening and a real opening, and it left the New York Liberty handing Han Xu the first start of her WNBA career.

She was ready. Han Xu scored 14, Breanna Stewart went for 28, and the Liberty beat the Sun 89-80 for their fifth straight win. New York moved to 8-4 with Sabrina Ionescu (back) also sitting out. Connecticut, down Aneesah Morrow (left leg strain) and Brittney Griner (left rib strain), fell to 2-11 and has now lost three in a row.

New York Never Quite Let Go

The Sun led 13-12 in the first quarter before a 9-0 Liberty run made it 21-13, and that was about as comfortable as the visitors got for a while. It was 23-18 after one. Connecticut's reserves kept things close in the second, with Raegan Beers and Nell Angloma helping pull the Sun within 34-33, but foul trouble kept sending the Liberty to the line. Stewart made two trips late in the period, 2 for 2 each time, and New York took a 38-35 lead to the break.

The third quarter is when the Liberty got serious. Stewart's three capped a 7-0 start to the half and made it 45-35, and Connecticut spent the rest of the night looking up. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton's and-one, 34.6 seconds before the horn, pushed it to 65-53, and it was 65-56 going to the fourth. New York's biggest lead was 13. Connecticut's was three, and the Liberty led for 90% of the night.

Connecticut would not go away, which is to its credit. Diamond Miller opened the final period with a three, Olivia Nelson-Ododa kept finishing at the rim, and two Aaliyah Edwards free throws with 45.9 seconds left made it 85-80, as near as the Sun had been all quarter. The final period finished dead even at 24-24, which tells you everything about how much that third quarter cost them.

Stewart Carried It, Han Xu Held It Down

Stewart was the best player on the floor, and it was not all that close. She scored 28 on 9-of-17 shooting, went 9 of 9 at the line and added nine rebounds, three assists and three steals in 34 minutes. She got whatever she wanted when New York needed something, and she got it without much fuss.

Han Xu, meanwhile, gave the Liberty exactly what a surprise starter is supposed to give and then some: 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting, 5 of 6 at the line, six rebounds, two blocks and a plus-13 in 22 minutes. Her 24-foot three in the first quarter was the opening statement, and five more points came in the final five minutes, right when the Sun were pushing hardest. It is one thing to fill in on someone else's big night. It is another to look like you have been doing it for years.

The bench did its part too. Laney-Hamilton scored 11, Satou Sabally added nine, and Raquel Carrera had seven. With Ionescu out, Marine Johannes and Pauline Astier combined for 13 points and seven assists.

Connecticut's best work came from its frontcourt. Nelson-Ododa and Edwards each scored a season-high 15, with Nelson-Ododa going a perfect 6 of 6 from the field and grabbing eight rebounds. Saniya Rivers had 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks despite going 0 for 4 at the line, Miller scored 10, and Leila Lacan finished with seven points and seven assists. Nelson-Ododa and Beers each picked up five fouls, though, and a thin frontline can only absorb so many whistles.

The Miss That Mattered

Back to 85-80. Pauline Astier drove into the lane on the next New York possession and put up a layup that never touched the rim. For about a second, Connecticut was getting the ball back, down five, with a real chance to make the final half-minute interesting.

Instead, Stewart was standing right there. She pulled down the offensive rebound and put it back with 24.8 seconds left, and it was 87-80. She added one more basket with 3.9 seconds left, purely for emphasis. On a night when the Sun had clawed back from double digits, the Liberty's best player turned a teammate's bad look into the bucket that ended it. That is what a five-game winning streak looks like up close: even the airballs are working.

Stats That Matter

• 25 of 29: New York's free throws, against 13 of 23 for Connecticut. That 12-point gap is bigger than the final margin.
• 42-28: The Liberty's rebounding edge, with 33 of those on the defensive glass.
• 19: New York's turnovers, nearly double Connecticut's 10. The Sun only turned them into 11 points.
• 48-38: Connecticut's advantage in the paint, which still was not enough to catch up.

What It Means

New York has won five straight, is 3-1 on the road and is now 2-0 against Connecticut this season after a 106-75 win on May 8. It gets a stiffer test on Thursday in Atlanta. The Sun are 2-11, just 1-4 at home, and head to Toronto for a Wednesday game with the losing streak at three.

The Farewell Episode Missing Its Star

"This means a lot to me," Jones said when the Sun announced the honor last month. "Connecticut's the place where everything started for me in the WNBA." Her years there included the league MVP award in 2021, and she is among six former Sun players and coaches being recognized during the franchise's Sunset Season.

Any long-running show knows how a farewell episode should go: big ovation, a few tears, roll credits. Monday's version had all the sentiment and none of the star, and then the team she plays for now stole the ending anyway.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details as reported by the Associated Press and the Connecticut Sun. Jonquel Jones' quote from the team's May 26 announcement.