Sun Split Two-Game West Coast Swing with Seattle and Los Angeles

Connecticut's Courtney Williams draws a key charging
foul on Breanna Stewart as the Connecticut Sun stopped
the Storm in Seattle, 83-79..

By Bob Phillips

The first-place Connecticut Sun (now doesn’t that sound nice) came out of a whirlwind two-games-in-two-days West Coast swing without their heads being handed to them, splitting the two-game set with the Seattle Storm and Los Angeles Sparks one-and-one.

On Wednesday afternoon, Shekinna Stricklen tied a franchise record with seven made three-pointers while scoring a season-high 21 points to lead the Sun over Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm, 83-79, before 10,833 fans at KeyArena in Seattle. Stricklen tied the mark set by Nykesha Sales in 2000. It was her sixth game this season with four or more made treys. The last of her three-pointers gave the Sun (11-7) an 81-77 lead with 1:08 remaining. After the Storm pulled within 81-79, Courtney Williams drew a charge call on Breanna Stewart and made two free throws with 9.4 seconds left to ice the win.

It was the fifth win in a row for the Sun, who improved to 7-4 on the road.

Stricklen led five members of the Connecticut Sun in double-figures. Joining her was Jasmine Thomas with 15, Jonquel Jones with 14 points and 12 rebounds, Alyssa Thomas with 13 points and Williams with 10. Alyssa Thomas also had eight boards and five assists while Jasmine Thomas dished out six assists and grabbed five steals.

The Sun opened the game by outscoring the Storm (8-8) 25-15 in the first quarter. Seattle went on a 16-9 run in the second quarter to take a 37-36 lead with 3:34 remaining in the half, and held on to out-score Connecticut 33-19 in the quarter to take a 48-44 lead into the locker room at intermission.

Connecticut battled back in the third quarter, regaining the lead with 4:55 remaining in the frame after a going on a 16-6 run. Williams and Stricklen accounted for 12 of the Sun points in that span. The Sun then held onto the lead for the rest of the game, despite the Storm cutting the Connecticut lead down to one twice in the closing minutes of play.

The Storm were led by UConn legend Breanna Stewart with 22 points and eight rebounds while Jewel Loyd added 17. Sue Bird—also a UConn legend—had 15 points and seven assists for the Storm.

Nneka Ogumike puts two of her game-high 29 points over
Connecticut's Morgan Tuck as the Sun saw their five-game
winning streak come to and end in Los Angeles.

Then it was a quick flight down the Left Coast to take on the LA Sparks on Thursday night. Jonquel Jones scored 20 points to lead four players in double figures, but it wasn’t enough, as the Sun fell to the Sparks 87-77 before 9,918 fans at the Staples Center. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the red-hot Sun, who fell to 11-8. Ironically, Connecticut’s last loss also was at the hands of the Sparks (13-5), at home, on June 27th. 

Jones was joined in double-figures by Jasmine Thomas with 14, Alex Bentley with 11 and Courtney Williams with 10. Alyssa Thomas narrowly missed a double-double, scoring nine points and pulling down nine rebounds. In her first significant minutes since missing 11 games with a knee contusion, Morgan Tuck had seven points, two rebounds and two assists.

Connecticut trailed 16-14 early in in the contest, but an 18-2 run over the last four minutes of the first quarter put the Sun up 32-18 at the first turn. Indeed, it was the most points scored by Connecticut in the first quarter of any game this season. 

But the good times didn’t keep rolling for the Sun in the second period, as the Sparks went on a 19-6 run to knot the score at 45-45 with 37.2 seconds in the half. A free-throw by Nneka Ogumike sent Los Angeles into the locker room with a one-point lead at intermission.

The Sparks took control of the game in the third quarter, ending the period with a 12-point advantage, 69-57. Connecticut battled back in the fourth, cutting the lead down to five points on a layup by former UConn star Morgan Tuck with 5:11 remaining, but could get no closer.

Ogwumike led the way for Los Angeles with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Candace Parker added 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. With the loss, the Sun fall to 11-8, tied for first place in the Eastern Conference with the Washington Mystics, two games ahead of Atlanta and New York, who are tied for third. The Sun are No. 4 overall in the league, one-half game behind No. 3 Phoenix.

Connecticut returns home for a Sunday matchup with the San Antonio Stars. Tip-off at the Mohegan Sun is at 3 p.m., and the game will be televised on CSN New England, and streamed on WNBA League Pass.

—with staff reports