Sun Drop Opener to Atlanta

By Bob Phillips

                                                                                                                                                     Photos By Bill Harper

Former UConn star Morgan Tuck (33) drives on another former Husky star,
Tiffany Hayes (15), in first-half action.

UNCASVILLE—The Connecticut Sun’s dream of returning to the WNBA postseason for the first time since 2012 got off to a slow start when they dropped the 2017 season opener to the Atlanta Dream, 81-74, before 6,444 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday night. The Dream is playing without superstar Angel McCoughtry who is taking some time off from the WNBA. The former Louisville star and No. 1 overall pick in 2009 has played year-round for eight seasons, led Dynamo Kursk to the 2017 Euroleague championship, and is currently playing with Homenetmen of the Lebanese Basketball League, whom she has led into the LBL Finals.

On Saturday, it was former UConn star Tiffany Hayes who was the No. 1 thorn in the Sun's side. Hayes returned to her state of past glory to lead her current team with 19 points—including an 11-for-12 performance from the foul line—and grabbed six boards. Former Hillhouse of New Haven star Bria Holmes added 15 points, Layshia Clarendon had 14, and Damiris Dantas 13 for Atlanta.

Former UConn star Morgan Tuck—a key member of four Husky national championship teams—drained in a career-high 21 points, while Courtney Williams added 28 for the Sun. Jonquel Jones grabbed a  career-high 20 boards—the most by a Connecticut player since Tina Charles had 22 on June 17, 2012. But ultimately, it didn’t prove to be enough.

The Sun trailed 29-26 at the first turn, and were behind by nine, 51-42, at halftime. They began to chip into Atlanta’s lead in the third period, and after an 8-0 run fueled by back-to-back treys by Jasmine Thomas and Tuck, took a two-point lead with 7:51 remaining in regulation. Brittany Sykes answered with a layup for Atlanta, and Holmes hit two jumpers giving the Dream a 70-66 lead—a lead they would not relinquish.

Atlanta's Tiffany Hayes (15) had a career night from the charity stripe.

Not that the Sun were through. Thomas made a layup with 46 ticks left on the clock to make it a one-possession game, 77-74, but a trey by Hayes 22 seconds later sealed the deal for the Dream.

Atlanta won, despite the fact that it was out-rebounded by the Sun 44-33, including a 10-3 Connecticut advantage off the offensive glass.

“We played a lot better [in the second half],” said Tuck, whose rookie season was cut short with season-ending surgery to repair a torn ligament in her left knee last September. “We fouled a lot less. We just have to be able to do that in the full game.”

Defensively that may have been the case. But the Connecticut defense was virtually non-existent after halftime. Atlanta shot 38.8 percent for the game. But the Sun shot even worse. After a decent first half in which they shot 43.8 percent from the field, the air went out of the ball for Connecticut in the second half as the Sun made just 13 of 42 shots (an abysmal 36.5 percent) after halftime.

“Disappointed obviously in the results,” said Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller after the contest. “We left a lot of points out there. We were approximately 33-to-35 percent inside the paint tonight. Our post game was around 33 percent. … We left too many points out there. We held a team under 40 percent shooting and didn't come away with a win.”

Morgan Tuck objects to a foul called...and she has a point. Atlanta got to the
foul line 21 times in the first half. They made all 21 tying a league record.

In the end, the Dream won the game at the foul line. Atlanta was 21 for 21 from the charity stripe in the first half, which tied the Los Angeles Sparks for the most free throws made in a half without a miss (LA did it in June 2003). Overall, the Dream were 25 for 27 from the line. Atlanta's 21 first-half points from the charity stripe tied a long-standing WNBA record set by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2003 for the most free throws without a miss in one half of a WNBA game. For the game, the Dream finished 25 of 27 from the free throw line.

“You can't put that team at the foul line,” Miller said. “They just ram it at you late in the shot clock. You've got to be able to guard (them). Tiffany knows how to draw fouls. You've got to understand that.”

The Sun now have a week to regroup as their next game is in Indianapolis next Saturday vs. the Indiana Fever. Tip-off is at 7, and the game will be televised nationally on FS1 (Fox Sports 1).

Kelly Faris Cut