Sun Rally Past Mystics, 83-75

By Bob Phillips

Jonquel Jones pops in two of her game-high 24 points against the
Washington Mystics on Tuesday. J.J. was named the WNBA
Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second
consecutive week.

UNCASVILLE—Jonquel Jones led all scorers with 24 points while Courtney Williams added a season-high 23 to lead the and the Connecticut Sun beat the Washington Mystics 83-75 on Tuesday night before 5,224 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena in a meeting between the WNBA’s two top teams. It was the seventh-straight game that JJ had registered in double-digits, and it was the second time this season she registered 20 or more points—the 23rd time in her career she has put up 20 or more points.

Shekinna Stricklen added 12 points for Connecticut, with nine points coming on three shots from beyond the arc. As a team, the Sun shot nearly 50 percent from long range, banging home 10 of 21 shots taken from downtown Norwich (47.6 percent). In addition, Connecticut was nearly perfect from the foul line, putting in 11 of 12 from the charity stripe.

Alyssa Thomas hauled down a game-high 12 boards, which matched her season high. It was the fourth time this season she has registered double-digit rebounds.

The Mystics were looking to avenge a season-opening 84-69 loss to the Sun—a game also played at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Unlike last night’s game, however, the Mystics’ lineup sported WNBA All-Star Elena Delle Donne. After missing the season opener, the former All-American from Delaware returned for Game 2, and the Mystics promptly ran off four straight victories, averaging nearly 90 points per game.

Then they ran into the Sun. Again.

J.J. was 9-for-11 from the floor, including nine straight for the Sun during a third-period surge that saw Connecticut flip a 10-point deficit.

Ariel Atkins led Mystics with 18 points, while Aerial Powers added 14 for the Mystics.  Elena Delle Donne chipped in with 13 and Natasha Cloud had 12. The three-point arc was not Washington’s friend on Tuesday. The Mystics went 6-for-28 (21.4 percent) from downtown.

Washington led 24-18 at the first turn and took a 37-33 lead into the locker room at intermission. The third period, however, was all Connecticut—as it has been for most of the season. The Sun outscored the Mystics 27-18 in the third quarter, led 60-55 going into the fourth period, and never looked back.

The win was the fourth straight for Connecticut, which improves to a league-best 6-1. It marks the second straight season in which the Sun have run out to a red-hot 6-1 start. It was also the 11th straight home victory for the Sun, which matches a franchise record set during the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

“The fans, especially when the game is on the line, they are really into it and we feed off that energy,” said Shekinna Stricklen, explaining her team’s success on its home court. “I think our defensive intensity goes up higher and we make some big stops when we need it.”

This game also marked the first time this season the Sun emerged victorious after trailing at halftime.

“Big win… proud of those guys in that locker room tonight,” said Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller. “That’s a 50 point second half. We were able to regroup at halftime and talk about their scheme against us that was giving us trouble. We made some adjustments and did a much better job attacking them.”

As is usually the case, the Sun defense came up big.

“That is a team that has shot makers all around the floor [and] we held them to less than 41 percent from the field” continued Miller. “[It was] the second consecutive game where they didn’t have a big night at the arc against us. Big, big win. Huge early series win. Will that make a difference down the line? I don’t know but that is a big series win against arguably the favorite in the league.  So I am proud of those guys.”

Washington head coach Mike Thibault, the winningest coach in WNBA history, was disappointed in his team’s performance.

“We missed assignments tonight,” said Thibault, who roamed the Connecticut sidelines from 2003-2012. “If we double off the wrong person and left Courtney Williams or Shekinna Stricklen open behind the three-point line when you are not supposed to be the helper… that is a killer. On top of that, we had a couple of players have tough shooting nights. The last part is we are struggling right now with getting Elena [Delle Donne] great touches and part of the is her missing two weeks at the end of training camp and we don’t have a good rhythm with her yet. I think we will get better in that area quicker than we will in other areas.”

Thibault was effusive in his praise for J.J.

“She is playing great,” continued Thibault. “Those long, tall players, the five or six in the league that post up and step out are all special. She is clearly one of those players. You don’t have a team that is 6-1 and her as player of the week on accident. She has worked at her game. She started working on her three-point shot when she was a junior in college.”

The Sun are now off to Minneapolis where they will challenge the Maya Moore-less Minnesota Lynx on Friday night. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on NESN+ and streamed on League Pass. The Sun will then hop in a plane and fly back home to host the Sue Bird-less and Breanna Stewart-less Seattle Storm. Tip-off at the Mohegan Sun Arena is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised nationally on ABC.

Deuce for J.J.

Jonquel Jones has been named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. J.J. helped the Sun beat the Los Angeles Sparks last Thursday, scoring 18 points and grabbing eight rebounds in an 89-77 victory. She followed that strong performance with a 17-point, 13-rebound, outing with five blocked shots in the Sun’s 65-59 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Sunday. Jones’ contributions to the Sun’s fast start have made her an early favorite for the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player award.

Phoenix Mercury star DeWanna Bonner was named the Western Conference Player of the Week.

—with staff reports

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