Sun Sprint Past Stars

The Connecticut Sun topped the San Antonio Stars 89-75 on Sunday at
the Mohegan Sun Arena. It was the Sun's seventh win in their last
10 games.

By Bob Phillips

UNCASVILLE – The Connecticut Sun snapped out of a one-game funk with a come-from-behind 89-75 victory over the San Antonio Stars before 6,355 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday. The Sun, who trailed by five points at halftime, were led by Courtney Williams (15 points, six rebounds), Alyssa Thomas (13 points, nine boards) Jonquel Jones (13 points, six rebounds) and Jasmine Thomas (13 points, four assists). Alex Bentley added six points and a team-high seven assists off the Connecticut bench, while former UConn star added seven points—including one from downtown Norwich.

Talk about teamwork: Every member of the Sun made at least one field goal in this one.

Isabelle Harrison led San Antonio with 17 points, while Kayla McBride added 14, and first-year TK Kelsey Plum chipped in with 11.

Connecticut led 21-19 at the first turn, but dropped off a bit in the second period and trailed 40-35 at intermission. But the Sun completely dominated the third, outscoring their opponents by 23 points in the period, 33-10, to take command of the contest. Courtney Williams led the Sun with 10 points—including 5-for-5 shooting from the field—in the quarter. The explosion was fueled by a 26-4 run, and the Sun tied their season-high of 13 made field goals in the quarter on .68.4 percent shooting (13-for-19).

“We came in with the right mind set [and] focused offensively and defensively that we needed,” said San Antonio head coach Vickie Johnson. “I told them if the game was only 20 minutes we would win every game. But it’s not—it’s 40 minutes. So, the thing I have to try to teach and coach and motivate is play every possession for 40 minutes on both sides of the ball, and have five players out there that are clicking at the same time.”

Connecticut had a similar experience early in the season failing to close out games and getting off to an 0-4 start.

“I think it’s just our mindset,” said Jonquel Jones, one of two Sun players voted to start in Saturday’s All-Star Game in Seattle. “Even the beginning of the season, everyone who watched could tell that we could play with anybody. We just had to focus on playing good basketball, understanding that we could play with any team, and executing all the way through games.”

Connecticut has righted the ship, and now have won six of their last seven games.

On Sunday, the Sun’s high-intensity play was equally apparent at the defensive end of the court as Connecticut held San Antonio to 4-for-16 from the field (25 percent) while also forcing eight turnovers which they parlayed into 14 points. The Sun also registered eight steals in the quarter—a new franchise record.

“I think last year we would have panicked more,” said Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller when asked about his team’s slow start. “There’s a level of growth, maturity and leadership from this group. They know they didn’t play the type of way they are capable of, [but] it’s fun to watch players take ownership. It’s fun to watch players coach themselves. It was a lot of determination, effort and just a higher level of desire in that second half.”

“The character of the players on this team, their personalities… They’re extremely talented,” added Jasmine Thomas, the 5-9 point guard out of Duke and Connecticut’s other All-Star starter. “I feel like in every position we have someone who is a great player and it just works well together. Everyone is unselfish, everyone enjoys seeing the team do well and I think in the pro game, that’s hard to come by.”

Jasmine Thomas, now in her seventh season in the WNBA (and her third in Connecticut), shot 6-for-10 from the field. Indeed, she is looking like a 1 in 2’s clothing after posting her eighth straight game in double digits—the 15th time she’s put up 10 or more points this season.

The Stars led 42-35 in the first minute of the third quarter when Connecticut exploded on a 26-4 run, taking a 61-46 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter. The lead was 68-50 going into the fourth period, at which point the out come was a foregone conclusion.

Trailing 40-35 at the half, the Sun outscored San Antonio 33-10 in the third quarter to build a comfortable 68-50 margin. Courtney Williams led the Sun with 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the quarter, and Connecticut tied a season high with 13 made field goals (on 19 attempts) in a quarter.

With the win, Connecticut, which improves to 12-8, completed a sweep of hapless San Antonio (2-17) for the 2017 campaign. The Sun, in first place in the WNBA Eastern Conference, are now a full-game ahead of second-place Washington. They are also in third place in the WNBA’s overall standings, two games behind second-place Los Angeles.

The Sun play their final game before the All-Star break on Wednesday morning when they visit the 9-9 New York Liberty coached by former Detroit Piston bad boy Bill Laimbeer and featuring former UConn stars Tina Charles and Bria Hartley. Tip-off will be at 11 a.m. at Madison Square Garden, and the game will be televised on MSG, NBA-TV and CSN New England.

—with staff reports