By Bob Phillips
 |
| Sylvia Fowles takes it to the hoop over former UConn star Morgan Tuck. Fowles led all scorers with 20 points in an 82-68 Minnesota win. (Photo Courtesy NBAE) |
UNCASVILLE – The Connecticut Sun got off to
a slow start and never could recover, dropping an 82-68 decision to the
Minnesota Lynx before 6,333 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday night. It
was the second time the Sun fell to the Lynx in four days, having dropped a heartbreaking
80-78 decision in Minneapolis on Tuesday night. With the win, the Lynx improved
to 5-0, while the Sun fell to 0-4.
Sluggish
start, you say? The Sun were an abysmal 4-for-14 from the field in the first
period (28.6 percent) yet somehow managed to trail by only seven points, 17-10,
at the first turn, despite it being the lowest single-period point total for
the Sun so far this season.
“I don’t
fault our effort,” said Connecticut Sun head coach and general manager Curt
Miller. “We tried really hard in the first quarter. We got around the paint
like we wanted. The game plan was to really attack them and we got around the
rim. But we missed a lot of makeable shots early, and sometimes that affects
you at the other end, and they counter-punched us.”
The Sun managed
to keep things manageable early in the second period, trailing by just six
points, 23-17, with a little over seven minutes left until intermission. But a
19-9 run to close out the second frame gave Minnesota a 13-point lead at
halftime. From there, the Lynx took the third period by a 22-15 margin to lead
by 20, which meant it was time for the fat lady to make an early curtain call.
Connecticut
(0-4) was still within six points, trailing 23-17 with 7:12 left in the half
when the Lynx went on a 19-9 run to build a 42-29 halftime lead. The Sun never
got closer than 14 the rest of the night.
The Lynx, last year’s WNBA runners-up to the LA Sparks, were led by
Sylvia Fowles with 20 points. Rebekkah Brunson and Renee Montgomery—another
former UConn and Sun star—each added 11 points for Minnesota.
Minnesota has arguably been the WNBA’s most dominant
franchise since 2011, appearing in five Finals and winning three championships
in that six-year span. Much of the Lynx success can be attributed to Maya
Moore, the UConn legend who was drafted No. 1 overall by Minnesota in 2011, and
Lindsay Whalen, the former Sun star and first-round draft choice of the Sun who
was traded to her home-state team in 2010. Last night, however, neither Moore
(seven points, 1-for-9 from the floor) nor Whalen (9 points) played
particularly large roles for the Lynx—although Moore, following the “Larry Bird
Playbook” (excelling in other areas when the shot vanishes) was the game’s
leading rebounder with 11 boards.
Lynetta
Kizer with 12 points—her high mark for the young seasons—was the only member of
the Sun to score in double digits. The Sun were pounded on the boards, being
out-rebounded by a 43-27 margin by the Lynx.
“[Rebounding]
has been our M.O.,” said Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve after the contest.
“Connecticut is a good rebounding team, but I thought we had a little bit
better understanding that we had to finish plays and not give them
second-chance points.”
“Coach
[Reeve] has been stressing that throughout the year that she wants five in the
paint,” added Fowles, the former LSU star and three-time Olympian. “We try to
do exactly what she says, because if we don’t it’s not pleasant. We just try to
take little steps.”
The news
wasn’t all bad for Connecticut, of course. Lynetta Kizer (6-for-11 from the field) led
the Sun with 12 points to tie her season high. 2017 first-round draft
choice Rookie Brionna Jones finished with five points. The University of
Maryland product was 2-for-2 from the field and 1-for-2 from the charity stripe
in her WNBA debut. Shekinna Stricklen went 3-for-3 from downtown New London,
accounting for all of her nine points. She also contributed a season-high four
rebounds and two steals. Rachel Banham finished with a season-high seven
points, while Courtney Williams tied her season high off the boards with five
rebounds.
“We kind of
have to forget about it,” said Morgan Tuck, last year’s first-round pick out of
UConn. “We play Sunday (vs. Chicago), so we don’t have too
long to dwell on it. So, you just have to watch film [Saurday]t and learn from it and try to improve
next game.” Tuck is the Sun’s leading scorer thus far with a 13-point average
in the 2017 campaign.
The Sky are
led by Cappie Pondexter (15.4 points per game; 8.2 assists per game), Allie
Quigley (15 points) and Jessica Breland (8.2 boards per contest). Tip-off on
Sunday at All State Arenain Rosemont, IL, will be at 6 p.m. ET, and the game
will be televised on WCCT-TV and NBA TV.
—with Colleen White and staff reports
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