Sun Foil Fever, Remain Undefeated

The Sun and Fever tip-off on Saturday night. Connecticut was looking
to get off to its first 3-0 start since 2008. With an 86-77 win over Indiana,
that's exactly what they did. (Photo by Bob Phillips)

By Bob Phillips

UNCASVILLE—In the end, the Indiana Fever simply dug themselves a hole too deep to crawl out of. In reality, these teams were like two ships passing in the night. The Indiana Fever came into the game winless, with an 0-4 record. The Connecticut Sun came with a 2-0 record. The Fever exit 0-5, and are beginning to see their hopes for postseason play fade awa. Already. The Sun, meanwhile improve to 3-0 and are one of the two WNBA teams remaining unbeaten. (The Washington Mystics are the other.) It is also the first 3-0 start for the Sun since 2008.

Alyssa Thomas led all scorers with a season-high 21 points, and was one of five Connecticut players to score in double digits, as the Sun topped the Fever, 86-77, before 5,843 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday night. Rachel Banham came off the Connecticut bench to score 14 points, while Courtney Williams and Jasmine Thomas scored 11 points each for the Sun. Chiney Ogwumike scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Sun.

Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 18 points, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. Candace Dupree added 14 points, while Victoria Vivians chimed in with 13—including 3-for-5 from downtown—for Indiana.

Indeed, the Sun never trailed in this game. Leading 24-21 at the first turn, the Sun appeared to blow the game open with a 13-0 run over the first three minutes of the second quarter to open up a 16-point lead. But Indiana wouldn’t roll over, and chipped away, cutting the Connecticut lead to five, 40-35, with 3:37 left until intermission. Connecticut regained its nine-point advantage and went into the locker room leading 47-38 at halftime.

A 20-6 Connecticut run midway through the third period gave the Sun a 70-51 lead entering the fourth period… far to great a lead for the Fever to overcome.

“Well it wasn't always pretty tonight, and certainly we had stretches that we didn't play particularly well, but mission accomplished,” said Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller. “We didn't shy away this year from talking about how important May was. We got off to slow starts my first year and second year. We knew when the schedule came out, and how much we're on the road in June and early July, that this three-game homestand to start the year was very, very important to us. So mission accomplished getting to 3-0. We're really excited about that. Good teams take care of business at home.

“Despite any of those three teams being at full strength, we did what we needed to do,” Miller continued. “Tonight, I thought we had good stretches. We couldn't sustain it for as long as we wanted. The fourth quarter, as good as it was for us the other night, was a struggle tonight. I have to give credit to Indiana's second unit. Their energy in the second half with 10 offensive rebounds alone in the half and a lot of put-backs, and their fight in the fourth quarter was a reversal of what we did the other night in the fourth quarter. We're proud of our gang that we got to the finish line.”

Before Sun fans get too giddy however, there are two things to keep in mind: The Sun’s opponents in their first three games own a combined record of 2-8. Also, all of Connecticut’s first three games have been played in the cozy confines of the Mohegan Sun Arena.

They now embark on a four-game road trip beginning with a game against Stephanie Dolson, Gabby Williams and the Chicago Sky in the Windy City on Friday. They won’t return home until Saturday, June 9, when they will host Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, and the defending WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. For ticket information, click HERE.

—with staff reports