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Sun star Jonquel Jones drives past former UConn star
Stefanie Dolson in Connecticut’s 100-94 victory |
By Bob
Phillips
UNCASVILLE—Jonquel Jones put up her customary
double-double with a 27-point, 11-rebound performance to lead the Connecticut
Sun over the Chicago Sky, 100-94, before 6,348 fans on a hot, steamy night at
the Mohegan Sun Arena on Tuesday. It was the Sun’s first game since the
All-Star Game in Las Vegas, in which Jones was a starter, and teammate Alyssa
Thomas was a reserve.
Jasmine
Thomas added 18 points, and Alyssa Thomas and Courtney Williams each scored 12
for Connecticut, which improved to 14-6 and reached the century mark for the
first time this season.
Allie
Quigley led Chicago with 24 points and four three-pointers, while Courtney Vandersloot
had 22 points and 11 assists. Former UConn stars Stefanie Dolson and Katie Lou
Samuelson added eight and six points respectively for the Sky, who fell to
11-9.
The Sun led
by two points at the first turn, 28-26, and opened up a double-digit advantage,
57-43, at halftime. After increasing the margin to 19 points after three periods,
the Sun let their feet off the pedal and allowed the Sky back into the game.
Chicago outscored the home team 31-18 in the fourth quarter and cut the Connecticut
lead to just four points after a three-pointer by Courtney Vandersloot with 1:18
remaining in regulation. But Jones grabbed an offensive rebound on the Sun’s
next possession and was fouled. She hit both foul shots, and added two more in
the game’s final seconds, to preserve the win—the Sun’s fifth straight.
"This team has a lot of experience,”
said Jasmine Thomas, a two-time WNBA All-Defensive First-Team section, on
letting the opponents back into the game. “We keep our composure, we close out
close games, and that's what we did. They are talented. We know they can score
a lot of points but ultimately it is up to what we can control. And we control
how we play, how we close out games and that's what we did."
The 100 points represented the highest point
total for the Sun this season, and the third time the team has reached the century
mark in franchise history. Connecticut also registered a season-high 29 assists
led by Shekinna Stricklen with a career high six. Indeed, her second helper of
the contest represented the 200th of her career.
"That's a big win tonight,” said Sun
head coach and general manager Curt Miller. “[Chicago's a] really, really
talented offensive team that was hot coming into the game.” The Sky had won their four previous games.
“We executed well at both ends,” continued
Miller. “I thought we got out and ran and got the tempo where we needed it and
showed a toughness. Obviously, a 31-point fourth quarter is not what we wanted
to have happen, but you know another good win for us to keep us in first
place."
While obviously disappointed with the result,
Chicago head coach James Wade was effusive with praise for his opponents.
“They
are a championship caliber team and we wanted to use all 40 minutes to measure
ourselves against them,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for Curt his players—I
have playing against them for years. We have a sour taste because we lost, but
we wanted to make it a little nervous for them. Our bench was able to set the
tone, our starters came in and put it to a point where it was a back-and-forth
game.”
Next up for the Sun will be a game against
UConn legend Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday at the Mohegan
Sun Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. For ticket information, please click HERE.
—with staff reports
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