Uncasville — Shekinna Stricklen lined up at the top of the 3-point arc in the fourth quarter and fired away, watching as the ball sailed through the nylon to give the Connecticut Sun a one-point lead.

She turned around and flashed her fingers toward the ground in celebration while letting out a simultaneous roar, then trotted back to the other end of the court while giving teammate Alex Bentley a spirited high-five.

“Just bringing in energy,” Stricklen said. “Just trying to bring more energy for the team, and I think I did that.”

Stricklen’s energy and late-game heroics, however, weren’t enough on Tuesday as the Sun dropped their fourth consecutive game, this one an 85-79 loss to the league-leading Minnesota Lynx.

But after struggling with her shot and playing sporadic minutes the past few games, Stricklen will look to carry that offensive mojo into Thursday’s matchup against the New York Liberty (7 p.m.) as she looks to earn a more consistent role on the court and the Sun seek to get back into the win column.

Stricklen, a fourth-year guard out of Tennessee, had played just six minutes in two of her last three games prior to Tuesday, a stretch in which she went a combined 2-for-8 from the field for just four points. But against Minnesota, she poured in 13 points (5-for-7, 3-for-5 3-point range) in 11 minutes.

Stricklen came up with timely shots on multiple occasions, including one as the buzzer sounded at the end of the third quarter that cut the Minnesota lead to eight and sent the Mohegan crowd into an uproar, and the other one about three minutes later from the top of the key that gave Connecticut a 63-62 lead with 8:22 left in the fourth quarter.

“It’s always good to hit the first one,” she said. “… Making that first shot right at the buzzer really gave me more confidence in my shot I’ve been struggling with.”

After playing sparingly the past couple weeks, Stricklen’s breakout game Tuesday is a testament to her slightly tweaked fundamentals.

Her shots were falling in practice, but her shooting stroke wasn’t translating to the game. Following a more concerted effort to follow through on her shots, she is starting to reap the benefits.

“Teammates have been telling me that I wasn't following through with it and sometimes leaning back,” Stricklen said. “Just trying to stay in my shot, that’s what I kept in my head. Staying through my shot and it was good to see it fall.”

Connecticut coach Anne Donovan knows what Stricklen is capable of — she called her “a great sparkplug for us offensively” — and that what Stricklen provided Tuesday can be expected every night.

Donovan also knows the need to find more energy off the bench, as she said she’s been struggling to find another guard to come in and give more rest to the Connecticut starters.

“I think she was bothered by the fact that I went to Kelly (Faris) and to (Jennifer) Lacy before her, and she stepped up which was what we needed her to do,” Donovan said.

Stricklen proved she can bring the energy and, with more consistency, she could be that reliable guard off the bench that Donovan has been searching for.

“I think I could,” Stricklen said. “I just need to be more aggressive and keep playing hard.”