Mohegan — The Connecticut Sun’s biggest weakness this season has been rebounding. It ranks second to last (31.7) in that category.

The Sun are in the Eastern Conference playoff race and play host tonight to the first-place New York Liberty, the WNBA’s best rebounding team.

Connecticut announced Thursday that rookie reserve center Elizabeth Williams (knee contusion) will be out at least three games. Starting forward Alyssa Thomas, its second-leading rebounder, will be a game-time decision after injuring her shoulder in Wednesday’s game.

Yeah, the timing couldn’t have been worse.

“It’s really unfortunate because Elizabeth was playing so much better and with so much confidence,” Sun coach Anne Donovan said. “We’re really going to miss her.”

Williams’ injury allowed Connecticut to qualify for a roster hardship exception, and it signed center Nikki Greene to a seven-day contract.

Greene (6-foot-4) was drafted 26th overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2013 draft and was waived before that season. She played 11 games for the Los Angeles Sparks last year.

Greene played at Penn State with Alex Bentley, the Sun’s leading scorer, and practiced with Connecticut on Thursday to help her get acclimated.

“There was a sense of urgency to bring Nikki in with New York on our schedule,” Donovan said. “We felt like we needed to get more size. … Nikki has got a lot of upside, so were expecting that she can help fill some of the gap (left by Williams).”

The Sun (12-10) are in fifth place in the East and a game out of second place. The Indiana Fever (13-9), Washington Mystics (13-9), and Chicago Sky (14-10) are all tied for second. Indiana and Washington both own a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Sun.

New York (15-6) has arguably the league’s most imposing frontline in Tina Charles (6-foot-4), UConn rookie Kiah Stokes (6-3) and Carolyn Swords (6-6). It averages a league-best 38.1 rebounds.

Charles, who played her first four seasons with Connecticut, is fourth in the league in scoring (17.2) and second in rebounding (9.2).

Stokes has been among the league’s best rookies as she’s averaged 6.4 rebounds and ranks third in the league in blocks (2.19). She had a team-record 8 blocks in a 64-57 win over the Sun on July 16.

Guard Epiphanny Prince (15.5 ppg) is the team’s best outside threat and has been wildly efficient of late. She’s shot 65.3 percent (32 of 49) in her last four games and averaged 20 points.

• Connecticut will honor Katie Douglas before tonight’s game and have her uniform No. 23 added to the Mohegan Sun Arena rafters alongside the numbers of Margo Dydek and Nykesha Sales. Douglas retired due to back issues prior to this season. … Fans are encouraged to bring school supplies tonight as the Sun hold a drive to collect and donate materials to schools throughout New London County. Among the items teachers have said are most in need are flash/thumb drives, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, rulers, binders and loose leaf paper.

n.griffen@theday.com

Twitter: @MetalNED