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Whalen rallies Sun past Liberty

Aug 20, 2009 - 2:08 AM UNCASVILLE, Conn.(AP) -- The Connecticut Sun won their first game without Asjha Jones.

Lindsay Whalen scored seven of her 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Sun rallied to a 74-69 victory against the New York Liberty on Wednesday night.

Jones, Connecticut's leading scorer, is out for two weeks with a sore Achilles' tendon.

Amber Holt had 12 points - all in the second half - and Whalen also grabbed 10 rebounds for the Sun (13-11), who came back from 17 points down in the first half and moved into a tie with Atlanta for second place in the Eastern Conference.

"That's why you just keep playing," Connecticut coach Mike Thibault said. "You fight your way out of things. We were as ugly as you could get for a while."

Thibault moved Holt from guard to forward as Connecticut adjusted its lineup without Jones.

"We thought this might be an Amber Holt night," Thibault said. "She played enough forward in college. She gives up height, but not a lot of strength."

Holt also scored seven points in the fourth.

"We weren't panicking," Holt said. "I thought to myself at halftime, 'OK, Amber, you've got to step it up."'

Cathrine Kraayeveld scored 13 points and Janel McCarville had 10 for New York (9-16).

Sandrine Gruda made a 15-foot baseline jumper with 5:12 remaining, giving Connecticut a 65-63 lead, their first lead since the first period. The Sun never trailed again.

Kraayeveld missed a 3-pointer with 9 seconds left that would have tied the game.

Whalen made two free throws with 7.5 seconds left to ice it.

"They went to a smaller lineup and we didn't react to it well," New York interim coach Anne Donovan said. "It's very disappointing."

New York missed seven of its first eight shots before making 15 of its next 23 to take a 35-18 lead. New York shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and made 4-of-9 3-pointers.

Connecticut shot 15 percent from the field in the second quarter (2 for 13) and 25 percent from the field in the first half (7 for 28). The Sun trailed 38-26 at halftime.