The New York Liberty (20-4) and Connecticut Sun (18-5) are first and second in the WNBA standings as the two team meet up Tuesday night ahead of the All-Star and Olympics break.
The Liberty have won three straight and eight of their last 10. They have bested Connecticut twice already this season, including a 71-68 victory last week.
Connecticut has won four of its last five and three straight overall on the road.
This marquee contest is a great way to close out the first half of the WNBA regular season. Below are our experts’ picks and predictions for the contest.
This is a steep margin for this particular matchup. The Liberty were given just two points in the teams’ two previous matchups this season.
Although New York is 11-1 at home this season, it is just 3-8 against the spread. Meanwhile, Connecticut is 8-2 on the road, including 5-5 ATS.
The Liberty have the league’s second highest scoring offense, but the Sun boast the league’s top scoring defense. A similar result to last week’s 71-68 final is to be expected ahead of the break.
Look for the Liberty to win, but the Sun to cover.
Bonner is having another outstanding season for the Sun, as she leads the team in scoring at 17.1 points a game.
She is averaging 21.5 points in Connecticut’s last four outings and that includes 22 points in last week’s loss to New York.
Look for Bonner to close the first half strong and score Over 17.5 points for Connecticut.
Ionescu has been on fire recently for New York. She leads the team at 19.4 points per game, just a hair ahead of Breanna Stewart’s 19.3.
She is averaging 23 points a contest in the team’s last four games, including 21 in the win over Connecticut last week. Stewart missed the team’s 81-67 win over Chicago Saturday with a right hamstring injury, and she may be out again here.
That puts the onus even more on Ionescu, who responded well in the Chicago win with a game-high 28 points.
Look for Ionescu to also close the first half with a strong effort and score Over 21.5 points.
New York may be without the services of both Stewart and fourth leading scorer Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who is averaging 12.7 points a game. She has missed the team’s last three contests.
New York has played to the Under five of its last six games, while Connecticut has played to the Under four of its last six games on the road.
Look for a similar final result to last week’s 71-68 New York victory as the teams play to the Under again.
Connecticut Sun | +200 ML |
New York Liberty | -245 ML |
Spread | NY Liberty -5.5 |
Total Points | O/U 153.5 |
DeWanna Bonner (Connecticut Sun) | O/U 17.5 points |
Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun) | O/U 10.5 points |
Brionna Jones (Connecticut Sun) | O/U 12.5 points |
Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty) | O/U 21.5 points |
Jonquel Jones (New York Liberty) | O/U 15.5 points |
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.