Sun 78, Liberty 62: Peering into the future

If you stared closely enough Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena, you could see into the future. It was the second quarter, and the Sun went with a lineup of Leila Lacan, Saniya Rivers, Marina Mabrey, Aneesah Morrow, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa.

And the reigning queens of the WNBA, the New York Liberty, could not score. On a few possessions, they never even got a shot off.

Sandy Brondello (see below) would shout out Lacan and Nelson-Ododa by name, and the chances of Mabrey being with the Sun a couple of years down the road (there’s a chance she might be gone this week) are probably slim and none, but Jacy Sheldon also had one of her best defensive games of the season, and by 2027, maybe we can throw JuJu Watkins in there, and good freaking luck scoring regularly on that team.

It’s also somewhat baffling that the team that can force 23 turnovers and generally wreak complete havoc on New York is the same one that is dead last in defensive efficiency (although the Sun have nearly caught the Sky with Friday’s performance), but the hope is Rachid Meziane and the team brass saw the light like I did and will do their best to replicate this going forward.

But in a season that promised hard times and delivered many of them, this was a huge reward for those of us that have hung in there, and - perhaps more importantly - a glimpse of hope on the horizon. There will surely be more struggles coming, a four-game road trip to the west coast awaits, and sadly, the 2025 campaign only has about six weeks left.

However, let’s live in the present, shall we? There were a lot of Liberty fans in the house Friday, but as the Sun dribbled out the clock Friday, Saniya Rivers waved to the crowd to stand and was quickly followed by the rest of the team and the crowd responded with a well-deserved standing ovation. Those moments are why we do this. 

What else did we learn Friday as it’s hard to see Emma Meesseman not playing a role in Sunday’s game?:

 

1. Mess ‘em up  - My coaching experience is limited to high school, but when I had good defensive teams, we would employ a “mess ‘em up” strategy, especially against good offenses, meaning getting physical and not letting them get into sets, basically trying to pressure them into being as miserable as possible. I think the Sun can do that, as they did Friday. Jonquel Jones, who had a rough night, saw it: “They started blowing up a lot of our actions… they were really physical with us, and it kind of messed up our timing and got us on our back foot a little bit. I think it helped them to kind of turn the game around.” With all due respect to Bria Hartley (who has been more than the Sun could have expected this season), she doesn’t bring the defensive energy that Lacan does. Now every game is different, and Lacan has plenty to learn (like not fouling), but that’s how Friday played out.

2. Winning the bench wars - It’s no secret the Liberty were shorthanded, but what bench they had struggled (with the exception of one Izzy Harrison drive and layup). Meanwhile, Nelson-Ododa, Sheldon (even though her shot was off), and obviously Lacan (who would be third in the league in steals if she had played enough games) was immense. Nelson-Ododa posted a -44 in the Sun’s somewhat embarrassing 100-52 loss back on June 1, and was +30 last night, a defensive wall in the paint and scored 16 points on the other end. I think Meziane realizes how important she is to the operation, which is why he keeps mentioning her. 

3. The Sun could have won by more? -  As I alluded to earlier, this was not a great offensive performance from Connecticut, which finished below 1 point per possession (0.951) and below its improving season average, believe it or not. Sheldon was making shots she missed, Mabrey was 6-for-19 from the field (2-for-10 from begins the arc) and the Sun had 17 turnovers of their own. Expecting Lacan and Nelson-Ododa to go a combined 12-for-16 from the field every night may be a little ridiculous, but there is still room for growth (obviously Hartley helps a little more on the offensive end).

Player of the game:  Olivia Nelson-Ododa - Mabrey was nearing triple-double territory and had some huge plays, but also had six turnovers, and it was Nelson-Ododa (and a little of Lacan) who provided the biggest spark. Defensive advanced metrics are still an inexact science, but Nelson-Ododa always rates high and it showed Friday.

Inside the numbers : 0 -  Number of teams with a losing record the Sun have beaten this season, another reason to hope, I guess. If you look at the current WNBA standings, the Sun have beaten New York (2nd), Atlanta (3rd), Indiana (5th), Seattle (6th), and Golden State (7th). 

Under the radar: The starting lineup didn’t look like it had any answer for the Liberty early and the Sun quickly found themselves down 18-9, but Lacan hit back-to-back buckets and the Sun began to turn it around, but it was a run in the second quarter that really flipped the game on its head. New York went 0-for-5 on layups in that frame, which really shows Nelson-Ododa’s impact, as she blocked two and changed two more. Meanwhile, the Sun were able to get six layups in the quarter (shooting 6-for-7), mixing in Lacan and Mabrey drives with Nelson-Ododa getting to the rim. Again, it was hope for the future, too.

Quotable:  “We tried to tell them (the Liberty) that this is a different team than the last time we saw them, they have different players. You see what Rivers and Morrow and Lacan are doing. We got a little bit more passive, but they also got a lot more aggressive, and it took away our assertiveness. But credit to them, they were flying everywhere. They made it hard for us.” - New York coach Sandy Brondello

Next up: Sunday vs. New York, 1 p.m. EDT