By Bob Phillips
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| As has been the case for most of the season, defense was the main theme for the Sun, who took it to the Los Angeles Sparks and took a commanding 2-0 lead in the semifinal series. (Photo by Bob Phillips) |
UNCASVILLE—“It was the best of times, it was the
worst of times.” So said the great Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities,
a classic novel set in 19th-Century London and Paris. It is also a great
descriptor for Connecticut Sun fans describing last night’s semifinal series
Game 2 last night.
The best of times? That would be the second half.
The worst of times? That would be the first half.
The long and short of it is that Jonquel Jones led all
scorers with 27 points, and Courtney Williams threw down a 25-spot to lead the
Sun over the Los Angeles Sparks, 94-68, before 8,051 fans at the Mohegan Sun
Arena.
The Sun started off slowly. Make that S-L-O-W-L-Y, trailing
22-15 at the first turn. To call Connecticut’s play “sloppy” in the opening
period is being polite. They did cut into the LA lead significantly in the
second period, and entered the locker room leading by the slimmest margins,
41-40. However, Connecticut shot just 36.4 percent from the floor in the first
half—including a 2-for-16 performance (a wretched 12.5 percent) from beyond the
three-point arc. LA, meanwhile, had a far more efficient offensive game going,
shooting 45.9 percent from the field, including 4-for-11 (36.4 percent) from
downtown.
JJ led all scorers at intermission with 15, while Courtney
Williams added 10 for the Sun. Alyssa Thomas had six points and 10 rebounds at
halftime for Connecticut. Nneka Ogwumike had 13 for the Sparks, and Riquna
Williams added 11. Williams was the only other Sun in double digits with 10. Nneka
Ogwumike paced the Sparks with 13, followed by Riquna Williams with 12.
Jones also had 13 rebounds for a double-double. Alyssa
Thomas had a double-double of her own, scoring 12 points and grabbing 13
boards. It was the third playoff Double D of her career. Rachel Banham had 11 for
Connecticut—her career postseason high. She also had three rebounds, also a
career postseason high. Chelsea Gray and former Sun star Chiney Ogwumike
dropped in 10 points each for the Sparks.
Sun fans have become accustomed to Connecticut turning on
the jets in the third quarter, and so it was last night. Led by Jonquel Jones
and Courtney Williams, the Sun finally showed some… some spark, and
outscored their West Coast visitors 29-17 in the third stanza, taking a 70-57
lead rounding the third pole.
“I think we just
brought a different type of energy [in the third quarter],” said Courtney
Williams. “[Los Angeles] came out and they hit us in our mouth, you know. And I
think we had to come out and withstand that run, stay mentally strong, you know
we know that basketball is a game of runs. So we went on our run and put our
foot on the gas.”
The Sun kept the pedal to the metal in the fourth, and
emerged with a 26-point margin of victory.
And a 2-0 lead in the series in this best-three-of-five
semifinal series.
“I thought their energy continued to build after we got off
to the good start,” said Sparks head coach Derek Fisher. “Their energy
increased and ours slowly dipped and we were not able to sustain the energy and
effort on the defensive end that made them uncomfortable to start the game.”
“In the third quarter they over ran us as they got more
comfortable and confident,” continued Fisher, himself a former star in LA with
the Lakers. “It started in the second quarter. We were forcing them to miss
shots and the way that they really imposed their will on the offensive glass
helped build their confidence. [The Sun] were not making shots, and it was the
second shots that helped them feel better about themselves. “
In the end, the Sun ruled the paint, out-rebounding their
opponents by a lopsided 46-24 margin.
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| Courtney Williams turned on the jets in the second half and ended up with 25 points. (Photo by Bob Phillips) |
“She got most of her shots off rebounds and they almost
outrebounded us double tonight,” said Nneka Ogwumike of J.J.’s play. “She had
seven offensive boards and that is huge. That’s seven extra possessions
whether she puts it up or passes it out.”
“Over the course of the game we have to regroup and make an
effort,” added little sis, Chiney, the No. 1 overall pick by the Sun in 2014. “Rebounding doesn’t belong to one or two
people. It belongs to the entire team. Whether it’s one person boxing out or
everyone coming in, we didn’t find a way to change that over the course of the
game. We love rebounding, but at the end of the day it’s our collective team
effort to get it done especially when you have mismatches and you are rotating.
It’s a huge area of emphasis over the course of the season and tonight we
metaphorically dropped the ball.”
Sun head coach Curt Miller was pleased with his team’s
overall performance—especially after such a slow start.
“This series has two of the best facilitating forwards in
the league, with Candace Parker and Alyssa Thomas,” said Miller, who is also
Connecticut’s general manager. “It allows us to play downhill—not only in
transition, but in the half-court we have another person that can get the ball
into the paint and be able to distribute and put pressure on the defense. If
they’re going to collapse, then we can stretch it with some shooters. If
they’re going to stay spread out, then she can maneuver. Alyssa Thomas is one
of the elite forwards in the league.”
Now it’s off to California for Game 3 which, if won by the
Sun would send them to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2005 when they
lost to the Sacramento Monarchs, 3 games to 1. That was the second straight
trip to the finals for the Sun. In 2004, they were defeated by the Seattle
Storm, 2-1.
While Sunday is a home game for the Sparks, they won’t be
playing on their home court. The NHL’s Los Angeles Kings have the Staples
Center booked for a preseason game, so the Sparks will be entertaining the Sun
at the Walter Pyramid (known as “The Pyramid”), a 4,000-seat arena on the
campus of Long Beach State University. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. ET on
Sunday, and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
Sun Spots
- With 11 points, Rachel Banham reached a playoff career high.
- The Sun tied the franchise record for points in a quarter with 29, which was previously reached twice, once on September 10, 2017 against Phoenix and August 27, 2007 against Indiana.
- The Sun are 16-0 when leading at the half this season.
- The final score of 94-68 represents the largest margin of victory (26 points) in the Sun’s postseason history. The previous largest margin was 20 on September 29, 2004 against Washington (76-56).
- It was also the most points scored by Connecticut in franchise history (94). The previous highest total points was 93 against Indiana on August 23, 2007.
- The Sim also broke their playoff record with made three-pointers with 10.
—with staff reports
#ctsun / @ConnecticutSun / #wnba / @wnba / @courtneywilliams10
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