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| Alyssa Thomas led the Connecticut charge as the Sun took a 1-0 lead over the LA Sparks in their WNBA semifinal series. |
This was the first playoff victory for the Sun, who finished No. 2 overall in the final WNBA standings, gaining a coveted bye into the semifinals, since 2012. A bye into the semifinals was of utmost important to Connecticut and the Sun faithful because the first two rounds in the WNBA’s… what’s the word I’m looking for? … we’ll just say “unique” playoff format are of the one-and-done variety.
Thomas had a double-double,
grabbing 10 rebounds for the Sun. This was her personal career high in playoff
points (22) and was the second postseason double-double of her career. Her 10
boards tied her career playoff high.
Jasmine Thomas added 19 points
and dished out a game-high eight assists, Jonquel Jones had 16 points and
grabbed seven boards, and Courtney Williams popped in 15 points with seven
rebounds and five assists to lead a balanced Connecticut attack.
Candace Parker led all scorers
with 24 points and grabbed 10 boards, while Nneka Ogwumike added a
double-double of her own (20 points and 10 rebounds) for the Sparks, who
defeated the WNBA defending champion Seattle Storm 92-69, in the one-and-done second
round to reach the semis. Keep in mind
that the Storm were playing without their top two players—former UConn
superstars Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart—who missed the 2019 season with
injuries.
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| Nneka Ogwumike (left) and Jonquel Jones jostle for a loose ball. LA's Candace Parker (right) watches. |
Former Sun star Chiney Ogwumike,
whom Connecticut drafted No. 1 overall in 2014, had a very quiet four-point, two-rebound
performance off the bench for the Sparks. Indeed, the former Stanford
All-American had as many personal fouls as points.
And did I mention she was met with a cacophony of boos by the partisan Sun crowd?
“It's sort of surreal,” she said.
“[It was the] first time I came back here they booed and I guess it hurt me a
little bit, because this place meant so much to me. But I understand why.”
The swarming, harassing Connecticut
defense was on full display last night as the Sun forced 17 LA turnovers. They
also limited The Sparks’ starting backcourt duo, Riquna Williams and Chelsea
Gray, to six points on 3-for-17 shooting.
The Sun took a 21-14 lead at the
first turn, but then lost their schizzle in the second and trailed by three,
40-37, at intermission. As has been the case most of the season, however,
Connecticut came out strong, scoring the first nine points of the third
quarter, which ultimately proved to be a back-and-forth affair. A layup by
Courtney Williams at the buzzer gave the Sun a 59-58 lead at the third pole—a
lead they would not relinquish.
“It’s always hard to pinpoint one
kind of breaking point in a game, but, I thought [it was] the start of the
third quarter for us,” said Sparks head coach Derek Fisher after the game. “After
fighting really hard to have a three-point lead going into the half, we didn’t
start the third quarter in the right way, and [Connecticut] scored nine points
in one minute and 23 seconds on things that weren’t difficult for us to cover.”
Fisher, the former Lakers star,
thought his team lacked a sense of urgency coming out of the locker room at
halftime. “The momentum turned a little bit at that point,” he said.
And Fisher was right, Connecticut
took the fourth quarter by a 25-17 and cruised to a 1-0 lead in the
best-of-five series.
“I think other than a stretch in
that second quarter, where they may have scored six or seven straight
possessions, I thought our defense for the most part really stayed in place,”
said Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller. “And we wanted the
defensive end tonight. That’s the maturation of this team—the maturation of the
growth of this core group. We are finding ways to win differently than the last
few years when we would win when we play great offense.”
As has been often the case, it
was the Sun defense that shined brightest on this evening, and, as we all know,
it’s defense that wins games in this league.
And championships.
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| Shekinna Stricklen, left, strips ball from Chiney Ogwumike, whose return to Connecticut was not as successful as she had hoped. |
“We held one of the most talented
back courts to three for 17 and no threes,” continued Miller. “The only threes
they got were from their post game or [Tierra] Ruffin-Pratt. So it was our
defense that allowed us to keep them at arm’s length.”
The teams return to the Mohegan
Sun Arena on Thursday for Game Two of the best-of-five series. Tip-off is at
6:30 p.m., and tickets are available at the Mohegan Sun box office, or by clicking HERE. For those
unable to attend, the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
In the other WNBA semifinal
series, Emma Meesseman scored a career postseason high 27 points and grabbed 10
boards, and teammate Elena Delle Donne added 24 points, including a
crucial turnaround jumper late in the fourth quarter, as the Washington Mystics
held on for a 97-95 victory over the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1. The Mystics are
the WNBA’s top playoff seed.
Sun Spots
- Alyssa Thomas scored the Sun's first nine points and had 13 in the first quarter.
- This was Curt Miller’s first playoff victory as head coach of the Sun.
- The last playoff victory for Connecticut came in Game 1 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals—a 76-64 victory over the Indiana Fever.
- Los Angeles won two out of three from the Sun in the regular season, but fall to 1-2 in Connecticut.
- The Sparks' Candace Parker passed Ruth Riley (78) for third all-time in playoff blocks, and passed Sylvia Fowles (415) for fifth all-time in playoff rebounds.
- Parker also moved to No. 14 on the WNBA’s all-time list of playoff assists with 154, and is tied for third all-time in WNBA history with 73 playoff steals.
- This was the eighth time Nneka Ogwumike reached double-figures in the postseason. It was also her eighth playoff double-double.
- LA's Chelsea Gray recorded her 100th career playoff assist.
—with staff reports
#ctsun / @ConnecticutSun / #wnba / @wnba
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