New York — Kiah Stokes, the former UConn post and current rookie defensive irritant for the New York Liberty, had three blocks in a little over a minute against the Connecticut Sun on Thursday night.

Yeah, that’s how the night went for Connecticut, and played a part in its losing streak extending to five games.

The Sun already knew the interior was going to be tough with Tina Charles, their former center, causing headaches down low.

Stokes has made the interior even tougher for New York’s opponents as she made a franchise-record eight blocks in a 64-57 win over Connecticut before 8,813 at Madison Square Garden.

Charles had a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds for New York (9-5). Stokes added seven points and eight rebounds. Starting power forward Carolyn Swords is a 6-foot-6 nuisance, too.

The trio were among the reasons why the Sun shot an abysmal 30 percent.

Connecticut (7-6) made just 10 of 34 shots inside, too. That would be 29.4 percent.

“(They’re) the biggest team that we’ve faced thus far,” Sun coach Anne Donovan said, “and they’re probably the most physical team in the league. That’s New York’s identity. We really wanted to come at them and get some inside points in the paint ourselves. Give New York a lot of credit. They handled the paint and took care of business in there; made our life difficult.”

Guard Alex Bentley scored a team-high 15 points for Connecticut, albeit on 6 of 19 shooting. Center Kelsey Bone made 5 of her 16 shots for 11 points with eight rebounds and reserve wing Shekinna Stricklen scored 11.

The Sun were 7-1 and one of the most pleasant surprises in the WNBA two weeks ago.

Connecticut has officially smashed head-on into the doldrums.

“Obviously, we’re struggling a little bit,” Donovan said. “We’re still a work in progress. I told you that early, when we started out 7-1, that there were going to be roller coasters in this season, and we’re facing a valley now that we’re equipped to handle. And we will.”

The Sun trailed 57-52 with 7 minutes, 35 seconds remaining in the game when Stokes put the hammer down. She made three blocks in 1 minute and 18 seconds.

“I want to block every shot I can,” Stokes smiled. “It helps that I have long arms (to block shots). That’s definitely one (positive). I can’t jump out of the gym, but I can jump a little bit.

“I’ve said before that I attribute all my blocks to playing volleyball. I played volleyball for seven years. I think that helps with timing and jumping, so every time I get a block, I just say it’s from volleyball. I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s what I say.”

New York didn’t exactly pull away from the Sun during that stretch (it finished shooting 34.4 percent). Yet a 3-pointer by Swin Cash and jumper by Epiphanny Prince gave New York enough of a cushion (62-54) to ride out the final 5 minutes.

“Tina is a handful by herself,” Bone said. “I feel like Kiah Stokes’ shot-blocking at the point in which it took place, the (three)-or-so in a row, that changed the game.

“You can live with what Tina does if you don’t let anybody else contribute. Kiah was able to contribute defensively and it got us out of our game and out of a rhythm.”

n.griffen@theday.com

Twitter: @MetalNED