Aces Trounce Sun, Series Heads to CT

By Bob Phillips

LAS VEGAS— A'ja Wilson led all scorers with 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Chelsea Gray poured in 21 points and and Kelsey Plum added 20 to lead the Las Vegas Aces to an 85-21 victory over the Connecticut Sun in Game 2 of the 2022 WNBA Finals played at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday night.

Courtney Williams led the Sun with 18 points, and Jonquel Jones chipped in with her trademark double-double (16 points, 11 boards) for Connecticut. Alyssa Thomas added 13 points and Brionna Jones threw down 12 for the Sun, who now find themselves in an extremely precarious position in their effort to claim their first WNBA title.

The Aces had been 0-6 in the Finals before taking the first two games of the series with Connecticut. Las Vegas, which was swept in the championship in 2008 when the franchise was still in San Antonio and also in 2020, will look to secure the title on Thursday night in Connecticut.

After being held to a season-low 67 points in Game 1, the Aces rediscovered their offense and shot 51.6 percent from the floor (33-for-64) in Game 2. The Sun, meanwhile, shot poorly (42.2 percent) hitting on just 27 of 64 attempts from the field.

Both teams played uptempo early, trading baskets and free throws. The game was tied at 10-10 with 6:29 remaining in the first quarter when the Aces seized control of the contest, going on an 11-4 run to open a seven-point advantage. The Aces, who led by eight points, 23-15, at the first turn, held on to that eight-point advantage and entered the locker room up 45-37 at halftime. Vegas shot 55 percent (10-for-18) in the first period, and played ferocious D in Q1, holding the visitors to 35 percent shooting (7-for-20).

The Aces kept it up in the second thanks primarily to Plum, who scored 11 in Q2

“I thought Kelsey’s drives opened us up,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “I mean, the other day we got good looks again from three. We didn't want to knock them down but you have to believe the worm will turn there eventually. The important thing is we are getting good looks once she gets in there.”

Connecticut was down 14 when Sun coach Curt Miller went with a big lineup, and the Sun responded with a 12-4 run to cut their deficit to six before a Wilson bucket provided the Aces with an eight-point halftime advantage.

“Get to my spots,” said Wilson, who finished the game shooting a scorching 76.9 percent from the field (10-for-13). “My teammates are putting me in a situation where I'm comfortable.”

“It’s going to take every bit of everybody,” added said Gray, who added 21 points. “You can see the stats. It’s the toughness, the little things that will get it done,” said Gray of her team, which now will head East for Game 3. “We’ve been a good road team this year, so we might as well go win on the road.”

Plum rebounded from a poor Game 1 when she scored just six points to pour in 20 in Game 2.

“A'ja cussed me out before the game [and] that's all I needed,” Plum said. “About time I joined the party. They carried us all week. It’s good to hit some shots, but we have one more.”

“We felt like we were playing catch-up all night since we couldn't string together consecutive stops,” Sun head coach Curt Miller said. “Trying to keep this high-powered offense out of rhythm and tonight we struggled to do that.”

Tip-off for Game 3 will be on Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN. A win by the Aces will given them their first-ever WNBA title. A win by the Sun will cut the Vegas lead to 2-games-to-1 and will advance the series to Game 4. That game, if necessary, will be on Sunday at 4 p.m., also at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Connecticut is 3-0 in elimination games in the playoffs so far this season. .

'”We are taking it one game at a time,” Sun star Jonquel Jones said. “That's all we can do. We are going to go back home, we are going to have our fans behind us, who have been with us all season, and we are going to use that to propel us to a win.”

Sun Stop Sky, Advance to Finals vs. Vegas

By Bob Phillips

CHIGAGO—Revenge is sweet. The Connecticut Sun, looking to avenge last year’s loss to the Chicago Sky in last year’s WNBA playoffs, did so in fine style with a 72-63 win to clinch a spot in the Finals. The Sun, who finished one game behind the Sky in the regular season standings, were 0-4 vs. the Sky during the regular season, and were down by 11 points in the fourth quarter last night.

“We come up here every year and Chicago kicks our [butt],” Sun forward DeWanna Bonner the No. 5 pick in the 2009 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury said. Bonner earned two WNBA championships during her time in Phoenix.

The Sun raced out to an early lead and held a 24-16 advantage at the first turn. But the Sky total reversed that in the second period and the teams were tied at 40-40 entering the locker room at halftime.

Then, in the third quarter, things took a significantly bad turn for the Sun, who scored only eight points in the frame and trailed 58-48 entering the fourth quarter. A 10-point deficit to the No. 2 seed in the tournament on the opponent’s court is not the greatest position to be in—unless you play defense like the Connecticut Sun. Connecticut’s defense cranked in up in the fourth quarter, holding Chicago to five points while the Sun offense scored 24, resulting in a nine-point Sun victory.

“You have to believe,” said Connecticut star Janquel Jones, last season’s MVP, about her team’s approach after being held to eight points in the third quarter. “We’re going to play our style of basketball. Just the resilience of this team to come out here and play good basketball and be tough.”

“When adversity hits, sometimes we fold,” added Natisha Hiedeman. “Not no more. We're not folding no more. As you all saw[after] the third quarter, we picked up right back up once again. Now we're going to the championship. Job not done yet.”

JJ put up her trademark double-double with 15 points and 10 boards in just over 31 minutes played. Indeed, the Sun ended th contest on an 18-0 run, the longest scoring run to finish a playoff game in WNBA history. All five Connecticut starters scored in double digits including 15 from DeWanna Bonner, 14 from Natisha Heideman, and 12 points apiece from Alyssa Thomas and Courtney Williams.

Chicago’s Kahleah Copper led all scorers with 22 points, while Emma Meesseman added 14 points and Courtney Vanderslooth put in 12 for the Sky. One of the keys to the Sun’s victory was their ability to hold Chicago center Candace Parker to seven points on 28.6 percent shooting in 33 and a half minutes of play.

“It’s one of the biggest disappointments I’ve had professionally,” Sky head coach James Wade said. “It’s hard to put into words. This is going to hurt for a long time.” Chicago was attempting to become the first team to repeat as WNBA champions since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001-02.

The Sun now head to Las Vegas where they will challenge the Aces, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, in the WNBA Finals. The best-three-of-five series begins on Sunday, and tip-off for Game One will be at 3 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ABC.

For the Finals, Games 1 and 2 will be played in Vegas, with games 3 and 4 (if necessary) in Connecticut. If a fifth game is necessary, it will be played in Vegas.

“There will be a new champion in this league,” Sun coach Curt Miller said. “There will be a first-time franchise champion. There will be a new coach, once again, that will be a first-time champion.”