Hayes Leads Dream Over Sun

By Bob Phillips
Photos by Bill Harper

Atlanta's Brittney Sykes shown busting a move against the Sun on Tuesday.
Sykes had 11 points in an 86-83 victory for the Dream.

UNCASVILLE—After losing three of their first four games in the month of July, the Connecticut Sun had reversed course and won two straight coming into last night’s game with the Atlanta Dream. But that’s not what happened. Former UConn star Tiffany Hayes banged in a three-pointer at the buzzer to lead the Atlanta Storm to an 86-83 win before 5,555 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Tuesday night.

The Sun led by as much as 11 early in the contest, and still were in the driver’s seat, leading by a seven-point margin, after Jones banged one in from downtown Norwich to the home team to a 79-72 advantage with just over five minutes left in regulation.

But anyone thinking that the Dream were going to go away at that point were as wrong as the people who voted for Donald J. Trump thinking he was a patriot. Atlanta came back to knot the score at 81 apiece when Angel McCoughtry, who finished with a game-high 24 points, knocked down a trey with 1:42 remaining in regulation. Then, after the Dream took the lead, the Sun tied the score when Alyssa Thomas, who finished with a double-double (12 points, 10 boards), knocked down two from the charity stripe.

Former UConn and Sun favorite Renee Montgomery, now a member of
the Dream, shown driving on Rachel Banham Tuesday night.

With 11.4 seconds left in regulation, McCoughtry missed a jumper that the Sun recovered, but then Hayes stepped up, stealing a pass from Jasmine Thomas and throwing up her game-winner as time expired.

Jonquel Jones led five Sun players in double-figures with 19 points, and she also had seven rebounds. Rachel Banham added 15 points with three made threes. Rachel Banham added 15, while Alyssa Thomas chipped in with 12, Jasmine Thomas 11 and Chiney Ogwumike put in 10 for the Sun, who fell to 12-11 and are in the eighth spot in the WNBA overall standings. Only the top eight teams at the end of the regular season qualify for the postseason.

McCoughtry’s 24 led the Dream, who improved to 13-xx, while Hayes (18), Elizabeth Williams (16), and Brittney Sykes (11) also scored in double digits for Atlanta, which improved to 13-9, and are in a virtual three-way tie with Dallas and Washington for the No. 4 spot..

Things don’t get any easier for the Sun as Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and the league-leading Seattle Storm visit the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday night. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m., and it will be Hometown Heroes Night.

No Biggie

Chiney Ogwumike, shown here driving past Angel
McCoughtry, has been selected to play in the
WNBA All-Star Game on July 28. The game will
be televised live on ABC starting at 3:30 p.m.

Buzzer-beaters are becoming the norm for this team this season. In addition to last night’s game, Shevonte Zellous of the New York Liberty banked in a trey at the buzzer at the Mohegan Sun Arena last week, Shekinna Stricklen banged in one from beyond the arc as time expired to lead the Sun over the same Liberty in White Plains, NY, last month—a four-point play at that—and a three pointer at the buzzer by Rachel Banham lifted the Sun to a preseason victory over the Los Angeles Sparks at the Mohegan Sun in May.

Oguwumike All-Star

Forward Chiney Ogwumike will represent the Connecticut Sun on Saturday, July 28th when the 15th WNBA All-Star Game is played at Target Center in Minneapolis. It is the second All-Star selection of her career. A former All-American from Stanford and overall No. 1 pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft, Ogwumike has scored in double figures 18 times, with a career-best 30 points at Seattle on June 15. She has five double-doubles. She has led the team in scoring seven times this season. After missing all of 2017 with an Achilles injury, Ogwumike leads the Sun in scoring (15 ppg) and total rebounds (157) and is second in the WNBA in field goal shooting percentage (.603).

As you might expect… and as is the rule… UConn will get plenty of representation in the WNBA All-Star Game. Former Huskies appearing in the contest are Sue Bird of the Seattle Supersonics (her 11th All-Star appearance), and Minnesota’s Maya Moore (who will serve as one captain; Elena Delle Donne of the Washington Mystics will be the other) have already been named. The remainder of the WNBA All-Star Teams, which will be competing as Team Della Donne and Team (Candace) Parker—the two captains—will be announced tomorrow. The game will be televised live at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

—with Staff Reports