WNBA Capsules

ATLANTA (AP) — Tiffany Hayes scored 22 points, Damiris Dantas added 15 and the Atlanta Dream beat Connecticut 82-77 on Tuesday night for the Sun's first loss of the season.

Angel McCoughtry made a long jumper with 37.7 seconds remaining to extend Atlanta's lead to 76-69. After Shekinna Stricklen sank a 3-pointer at the other end, the Dream hit four straight free throws to seal it.

McCoughtry finished with 11 points for Atlanta (3-3), which is 16-4 all-time against Connecticut at home. Renee Montgomery chipped in with 12 points.

Alyssa Thomas had 19 points, 17 rebounds and six assists for Connecticut (5-1), which was off to its best start in franchise history. Chiney Ogwumike added 12 points and nine boards, Alex Bentley also scored 12 and Courtney Williams had 11 points and nine rebounds.

Connecticut, which entered scoring 100-plus points in three of its first five games, was held to 36.6 percent shooting from the floor.

MERCURY 80, LIBERTY 74

NEW YORK (AP) — Brittney Griner scored 26 points and Diana Taurasi had 21 to help the Mercury beat the Liberty in a school-day game at Madison Square Garden.

This was one of only two games at MSG this season, with the Liberty playing the rest of their home schedule in suburban Westchester County.

Phoenix (5-3) led by five at halftime and the second half was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team able to take a bigger lead until the closing minutes.

Marissa Coleman hit a 3-pointer with 3:23 left to give New York a 74-73 advantage. Those were the Liberty's last points.

DeWanna Bonner hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 2:15 left to give Phoenix a two-point advantage. The teams traded misses before Griner connected on a turnaround jumper with 39.8 seconds left that made it 78-74 Phoenix. Taurasi added two free throws for the final margin.

Tina Charles scored 25 points and Bria Hartley had 18 to lead the Liberty (2-3).