Sun Shock Aces To Open WNBA Semifinals

By Bob Phillips BRADENTON, Fla.—Wow. Just Wow. The Connecticut Sun, who were within five minutes of claiming their first-ever WNBA title last season before eventually

falling to the defending champion Washington Mystics, weren’t supposed to make much noise this year. Gone from last year’s team are Shekinna Stricklen, who signed a free-agent contract with the Atlanta Dream, Courtney Williams (traded to Atlanta), former UConn star Morgan Tuck, who was traded to Seattle, and especially Jonquel Jones, Connecticut’s top player who opted to sit out this season because of COVID-19 concerns. After starting the 2020 season 0-5, the Sun gradually gained their footing and qualified for the postseason as the No. 7 seed (out of 8), As such, they weren’t expected to make much noise. Guess what? They are. After eliminating the Chicago Sky and the LA Sparks in the first two rounds—both of the one-and done variety—the Sun were not expected to give the tournament’s No. 1 seed, the Las Vegas Aces (coached by “Bad Boy” Bill Laimbeer, a four-time NBA ALL-Star and three-time NBA champion with the Pistons, who also owns three WNBA championship rings as a coach—all with the former Detroit Shock who moved first to Oklahoma City and then Dallas where they currently play as the Wings) much of a challenge. Aces who obviously were dealt a bad hand. Regular season MVP A’ja Jones led all scorers and was one of five Aces in double-digits (Jackie Young and Dearica Hamby both with 20 off the bench, Kayla McBride with 14 and Angel McCoughtry with 11). Young and Hamby’s play off the bench offset the miserable performances by Vegas starters center Carolyn Swords two points, two rebounds and point guard Lindsay Allen with no points and three assists. Yes, you heard that right. The vaunted Connecticut defense held the Aces’ starting center and point guard to two points. Total. The Sun were led by Jasmine Thomas who threw down a career-high 31 points, Thomas was dealing with a plantar fasciitis (a foot irritation). It didn’t slow her down, though. Thomas shot 9-for-12 from the field (75 percent) with 22 points in the first half as the Sun took a commanding 36-25 lead at intermission. For the game, Thomas finished 13-for-18 (72 percent). “I knew the pull-up would be there,” said Thomas. “I just took the first few without a conscience and with confidence.” Can you say en fuego? “She was on fire today,” said Sun guard Natisha Hiedman, who scored 14 off the bench for Connecticut. “She was just going crazy the whole game!” “I called less plays tonight than I have for weeks,” said Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller, who is largely responsible for constructing the team as it currently exists. “Just stay out of their way and let them feel the game. It’s fun to watch a player like Jas tonight. She just got into her rhythm.” For the game, the Sun held the Aces to 33 percent shooting from the field, including an abysmal 1-for-14 from beyond the arc. The 62 points was the lowest Las Vegas output all season. “Just a credit to our players’ tenacity and toughness,” Miller said. “Vegas can really bully you [remember who they’re coched by, afterall] and can really play excellent basketball. That was about 14 or 15 fewer field goals than they madein a [regular-season] game against us in the bubble. “Everything tonight was energy, effort and tenacity.” Besides Jasmine Thomas’s 31 points, Alyssa Thomas had 18 points, five assists and five steals. The two teams go at it again tomorrow (Tuesday) night in Game 2. Tip-off is at 9 p.m. on ESPN2. —with staff reports