If there were any lingering questions about whether Kiah Stokes’ game would translate to the WNBA, she’s erased those in quick order. The rookie out of Connecticut has been dominant on the defensive end of the floor and is a large part of why the Liberty are off to a 9-5 start.

Thursday night’s performance in the Liberty’s 67-54 win against Connecticut was perhaps the best example of what Stokes can do to completely change a game. Stokes’ eight blocks set the single-game record for the Liberty.

Physicality has been the calling card of the New York Liberty over the past few years. After all, look no further than who their head coach is, consider his past as a player, and you’ll quickly understand. Head coach Bill Laimbeer made a name for himself as a physical, defensive force in the NBA.

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Now, he’s instilling that same mindset in the Liberty, and it’s been evident in the Liberty’s recent string of success. Opponents are shooting only 36.6 percent against the Liberty this season, the lowest percentage in the league. Laimbeer’s squad is holding opponents to an average of 71.5 points per game, second only to the Minnesota Lynx.

In Thursday’s win, the Liberty’s defense was on display yet again, holding Connecticut to 30 percent shooting from the floor.

“[They’re] the biggest team that we’ve faced, thus far,” Sun head coach Anne Donovan said following the loss, “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 action, points in the paint ourselves. Give New York a lot of credit. They really handled the paint and took care of business in there; made our life difficult.”

And that defensive success assuredly goes back to Stokes. Her defense down the stretch helped keep the Sun at bay. It ignited the crowd inside Madison Square Garden and provided another level of energy to the Liberty. The 6-foot-3 center from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been the perfect complement to a frontcourt that already features All-Star Tina Charles.

“She just stays with it,” Liberty guard Candice Wiggins said, “and it’s incredible to watch, and you just know as a defender, every person’s shot is going to be changed.”

In her first 13 games as a professional she’s blocked 37 shots, which leads the league. Simply put, Stokes has the ability to change the tone of the game. Her willingness and awareness as a helpside defender has helped alter countless shots and is a major reason why the Liberty boast the second-best defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) in the league (95.3).

What she’s accomplishing on the court isn’t a surprise to her teammates. Wiggins raved about Stokes’ shot-blocking abilities prior to the season, even going as far as saying Stokes was second to only Phoenix’s Brittney Griner in terms of her ability to swat shots.

Thirteen games later and Wiggins has had a change of heart.

“Let me change that up, erase that,” Wiggins said after Stokes’ eight-block performance. “[Stokes] is harder [to play against]. The thing about her is the pursuit. She changes your shot. I should have known when she threw my shot in training camp. That should have registered, but it’s amazing her pursuit of the ball. And the thing that’s crazy is people don’t even understand how many shots she changes. She’s a gamechanger.”

Stokes, a three-time national champion with UConn, isn’t doing anything that she didn’t do at the collegiate level. She set the Connecticut record with 147 blocks in one season her senior year. She hasn’t missed a beat in her young professional career.

“I’m glad my teammates trust me enough so that they can pressure the ball,” Stokes said, “so if they get beat they got me back there. It means a lot, I’m just glad I’m doing something to help this team. I think we all have our part on this team, and that’s mine. I’m just trying to make sure I do it every day.”

The WNBA is not lacking in athletic, long forwards and centers. Brittney Griner has been dominant defensively in her first three years in the league, blocking shots at a historic pace Elena Delle Donne is 6-foot-5 and has become as much of a force defensively as she is on the offensive side.

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But defending and blocking shots isn’t all about length. It’s about pursuit and altering shots even when you can’t get a hand on it. It’s about timing, knowing when to contest and swat when the ball is at its apex. Stokes has nearly perfected her timing, but she attributes it to something other than time spent practicing blocking shots in the gym.

“I honestly haven’t worked on it,” Stokes said. “I attribute it all to playing volleyball in high school, so I think that helps me with my timing. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I just attribute all of my blocked shots to that. So, it might, might not, but you have to really want to block shots, and some people don’t because they don’t want to get fouls. I’d rather 15 blocks and a few fouls then to let them get a good basket.”

“It is a timing thing,” Wiggins added. “She just stays with it, and it’s incredible to watch, and you just know as a defender, every person’s shot is going to be changed.”