By Bob Phillips
Photos by Bob Phillips
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| Stewie puts in two from the lane, but the Sun rallied to beat the Storm. |
The Sun were playing shorthanded, as Jasmine Thomas was
forced to sit out the game due to a sprained ankle sustained in the Sun’s thrilling
93-92 win over Phoenix last Friday. Sun forward Lynette Kizer also missed the
game because of a sore back. Alex Bentley, who started in place of Jasmine
Thomas, contributed 12 points to the Connecticut cause.
Connecticut took a while to kick it in gear. Trailing 18-16
at the first turn, the Storm took command in the second period, and went into
the locker room leading by 11, 42-31, at intermission. Seattle, which might as
well be called “UConn-West Coast Campus” was led by three former Huskies:
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (13 points), Breanna Stewart (nine points, four
rebounds) and Sue Bird (six points three assists).
The Storm were lights out from the field in the first half,
nailing 18 of 36 shots (50 percent), including 4-for-9 (44.4 percent) from
beyond the arc. The Sun, meanwhile, shot just 36.8 percent from the field in
the first half, led by Jones, who had 11 at intermission.
Connecticut was unable to gain any ground in the third
period as the teams played to a 20-20 standoff. But the Sun cranked it up in
the fourth, outscoring the Storm 33-9 in the final frame and ultimately cruised
to a 13-point victory.
How hot was the Sun in the fourth quarter? In a word: scorching. The Sun opened the period
with an 18-2 run, turning a 11-point deficit into a five-point lead with 4:37
left in regulation. A three-pointer by Bird, who set a WNBA record with her
471st consecutive start, cut Connecticut’s advantage to two points, 71-69, with
3:06 remaining, but the Sun ramped up the energy, finishing the game with a
13-2 run to secure the victory. Williams was 6-for-7 from the field in the
final frame for Connecticut. In all, the Sun shot 11-for-14 from the floor in
the final quarter (78.6 percent), while holding the Storm to just 3-for-20
shooting.
Stewart picked up her fifth foul with 2:24 remaining, and
fouled out with 36.7 seconds left in regulation with the Storm tailing 80-71.
Game, set, match Connecticut.
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| Former UConn star Sue Bird pops in two of her 14 points for Seattle. |
Shekinna Stricklen contributed five steals—her career-high—to
the Sun effort.
Stewie led the Storm with 17 points, while KML added 15 off
the bench. Bird had 14, and Jewel Lloyd scored 11 for Seattle, which lost its
fourth straight game and fell to 10-16 overall—2-10 on the road. It was also
the seventh loss in the last 10 games for the Storm.
“We got cold at the wrong time,” said Stewart, who played on four national championship teams in her four years at UConn, and is not used to this losing stuff. “I think we
came out in the first half and hit them. In the second half, you have to expect
a run from a home team. We got good shots, we just didn’t make them.”
“It was a combination of things,” added Bird. “They played really well [in the fourth quarter], so you have to give them credit. You have to play 40
minutes, you can’t just rely on one half.”
It was the second win of the season for the Sun over the
Storm. Connecticut defeated Seattle 83-70 in Seattle last month.
“Truly exciting fourth quarter for us tonight,” said Sun
head coach and GM Curt Miller. “Seattle really took it to us the first 30
minutes but our game plan was simple. We just wanted to keep attacking, keep
the game up tempo, and we thought, in this league, it is really difficult to
play three road games in five days and maybe we can get to their legs
if we just kept attacking. [It was a] huge win; great fourth quarter. The fans
stayed with us, and we really stuck together even though we didn’t play great
basketball for the majority of the game.”
The Sun, who now have won four consecutive games, eight of
their last 10, and seven straight in the cozy confines of the Mohegan Sun
Arena, now sit atop the WNBA Eastern Conference with a 16-9 record, one game
over second-place Washington. Connecticut also owns the third-best overall
record in the league, two games behind second-place Los Angeles.
Next up, the Sun will entertain former UConn nemesis Skylar
Diggins-Smith and the 13-14 Dallas Wings on Saturday night. Tip-off at the
Mohegan Sun Arena will be at 7 p.m., and tickets are available by clicking HERE. It will be “Back To
School Bash” night, and the Sun will honor 2017 Connecticut Teacher of the
Year, Lauren Danner from North Branford. For fans unable to attend, the game
will be streamed live on WNBA League
Pass.
Dailey Honored
At halftime, UConn Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey was
presented with the Margo Dydek Award, given to an inspiring woman. Dydek, was a
seven-foot-two gentle giant who played for the Sun from 2005-07 and died of a
severe heart attack in 2011. Dailey was bestowed as an inspiration by many of
her former players on the video board during the presentation, including
Rebecca Lobo, Diana Taurasi, Gabby Williams, and Breanna Stewart.
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