Sun Win Second Straight Preseason Game

Courtney Williams goes to the hole for two in the Sun's 79-58 victory over
Dallas last night at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The diminutive point guard
led Connecticut in scoring with 18 points. (Photo courtesy Connecticut Sun)

UNCASVILLE—Courtney Williams scored a team-high 18 points to lead the Connecticut Sun over the Dallas Wings, 79-58, at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Tuesday night. It was the second win in two nights for the Sun, who defeated the Los Angeles Sparks at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Monday night.

Williams was simply en fuego from the field, shooting 9-for-10 from the floor, while adding three rebounds and two steals to her stat line. Jasmine Thomas (12 points, four rebounds), Rachel Banham (10 points) and Morgan Tuck (10 points) also scored in double digits for the Sun, who led from start to finish.

Thomas and Williams were a combined 8-of-10 from the field for 20 points in the first quarter as the Sun built a 23-13 lead. The Sun never looked back, improving to 2-0 in the preseason.

“We’ve always been a really good transition team, sharing the ball, pushing it, and we can only do that if we get stops, deflections and rebounds,” Thomas said. “When we’re doing that, we obviously look good, but we can’t do that all season. We’re still working on being a better half-court execution team, having people in the right spots and being able to run our plays.”

Alyssa Thomas had 12 rebounds and five assists and Alex Bentley hit a three-pointer in her first game back with the team after completing her overseas commitment. Betnijah Laney added eight points off the bench.

“[Monday], I thought we got out-toughed in a lot of the statistical categories,” Sun coach Curt Miller said of his team's victory over the Sparks. “You challenge your players, and they stepped up to the challenge tonight against one of the toughest teams in the league physically. They keep playing downhill and go at you. They led the league last year in foul shots and foul shots made. They passed us right at the end of the season as the highest scoring team in the league, but I loved our fight tonight.”

The Sun did so without the services of forward Chiney Ogwumike, who was given the night off after scoring 10 points on Monday night against Los Angeles. That was Ogwumike’s first game back with the Sun after missing all of 2017 with an Achilles injury.

The Sun will close out the preseason Friday at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, hosting the Atlanta Dream at 7 p.m. For tickets, please click HERE.

—Staff Reports