Sun

from B1 14 3- pointers the last two games.

“KT is feeling really confident right now,” Donovan said. “She was taking threes tonight and making some, not making all, but taking them with complete confidence. That just helps everybody’s swag.”

Rookie Alyssa Thomas has contributed in the previous two games, too. Her weakness coming into the league was not having a consistent shot, and it’s something she’ll have to continue to work on.

Thomas’ value has been both her defense and rebounding.

She had to play more minutes on Thursday after starter Allison Hightower sprained her knee, and she started Friday night.

Thomas had six rebounds in both games, and she made one of the biggest plays in Friday’s game. New York had closed to within two points when Bentley went to the foul line. She made the first and missed the second. Thomas grabbed the rebound before it went out-of-bounds, which led to Douglas’ 3-pointer that pushed Connecticut’s advantage to 74-68 with over four minutes left.

“With Allison out tonight, let’s add to that reasons that this was a good win,” Donovan said. “Alyssa did some really good things. She wasn’t really connecting offensively on points, but we really challenged her to help us rebounding, and that last one she got was huge. … All that experience for her is really going to pay off.” n.griffen@theday.com