Connect with us

WNBA

Sun’s Alyssa Thomas selected as reserve for the WNBA All-Star Game

Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas has been named to the WNBA’s Eastern Conference All-Star team as a reserve.

UNCASVILLE, July 18 – Three Connecticut Sun players will be making their All-Star debuts Saturday at the WNBA All-Star Game in Seattle. Forward Alyssa Thomas was named as a reserve for the Eastern Conference Tuesday night. She is joining teammates Jasmine Thomas and Jonquel Jones, who were named starters for the Eastern Conference squad last week.

“I’m so happy for AT,” Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller said. “She put a lot of work into her game in the offseason and continues to get better.

One of the most versatile forwards in the WNBA, Alyssa Thomas is in the midst of a career year. She is currently third on the team in scoring at 13.8 points per game, is second with an average of 6.5 rebound per game and is tied for the team lead in assists at 4.9 per contest.

Connecticut (12-8) began the year with a 1-4 record but with a knee injury to Morgan Tuck and Alex Bentley taking a 20-day leave to play with Belarus in the FIFA EuroBasketball Tournament, Alyssa Thomas moved to the power forward position and it has sparked the Sun.

“We have taken off this season because of moving her to the four position and being a distributing, facilitating four player,” Miller said. “She’s an attacker, she plays downhill and has really allowed our offense to take off and truly become one of the best offenses in the league.”

Alyssa Thomas has 94 assists in 19 games, easily eclipsing her previous single-season career-high of 70 in 2016. Currently, she is on pace for 166 assists. In her previous three WNBA seasons, she combined for 154.

“It’s a huge honor,” Alyssa Thomas said. “Not only are we having team success, we are having individual success as well. I’m extremely happy. Hard work is paying off. When you look at where this program was to where we are right now it just speaks volumes for what these coaches are trying to do here.”

Thomas has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week twice in the last month, most recently for the week ending July 9. That included her 19-point performance, 15 of which came during the second half of Connecticut’s 22 point comeback to defeat the Washington Mystics on July 8. Earlier that week she tied a franchise record with seven steals in the win at San Antonio on July 5.

Alyssa Thomas is joined by Layshia Clarendon, Stefanie Dolson, Candice Dupree, Elizabeth Williams and Allie Quigley as Eastern Conference reserves. Reserves for the Western Conference are Seimone Augustus, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Nneka Ogwumike and Breanna Stewart. 

The Sun (12-8) return to action on Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. when they travel to New York to take on the Liberty at Madison Square Garden. Connecticut returns home to play Chicago next Tuesday on July 25 at 7 p.m.

Since 2009, the Collinsville Press has been providing award-winning coverage of sports and news in the Farmington Valley and across Connecticut.

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

More in WNBA