Connecticut dominates Sparks for first win of season

The Connecticut Sun expected a tough defensive struggle with the visiting Los Angeles Sparks Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena. They didn’t expect to race away from the Sparks.

The Sun scored the first 12 points of the game and kept their distance in a 77-60 win over Los Angeles in the first home game of the 2022 season. It was the first victory of the year for Connecticut, which dropped a tough two-point decision to New York a week ago.

For the second straight game, it was Alyssa Thomas who led the Sun with 23 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and a steal. League MVP Jonquel Jones had 16 points and 12 rebounds while second-year pro Dijonai Carrington had 13 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Nneka Ogwumike and Jordin Canada both finished with 12 points for the Sparks, who fall to 2-2 on the season. After the game, the Sun raised the No. 15, worn by former star Ashja Jones, into the rafters.

“That was a really big win for us tonight against one of the most talented defensive teams in the league,” Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller said. “Really, really happy how we competed and with the tempo we played at and how we thrived off our defense and found ways to score off this talented defense.”

The Sun (1-1) dominated on the glass, pulling down 45 rebounds while the Sparks had 26. Los Angeles had just eight offensive rebounds while the Sun pulled down 26 defensive rebounds.

The Sun jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 7:54 remaining in the first quarter, forcing the Sparks to call an early timeout. The Sun continued to hold the Sparks scoreless until the 6:15 minute mark when Canada sank a pair of free-throws to make it 12-2.

Connecticut held a 26-14 lead after the first quarter of action. Jones and Thomas led the way for the Sun with ten points apiece after one.

The Sun took a 49-25 lead over the Sparks into the locker room with Jones finishing the first half with 16 points and nine rebounds while Thomas had 16 points and seven rebounds.

Los Angeles cut the lead to nine with 4:18 remaining but the Sun went on a 10-0 run to put the game away. Brionna Jones had two steals in the run, including a swipe near midcourt from Canada and drove to the basket for a layup.

Alyssa Thomas had six of her 23 points in the fourth to seal the victory for Connecticut in front of a crowd of 5,624 fans.

The Sun earned their first win of the year with two key players – Dewanna Bonner, who is recovering from travel after her European commitments have concluded and Courtney Williams, who was serving the second game of a two-game suspension from the WNBA for her role in an off-season fight at a nightclub in Atlanta.

“We focused on what we had in our locker room, which is a lot of talent,” Alyssa Thomas said. “We’re a dangerous team and now we’re adding two huge pieces. We’re definitely a team to look out for.”

Sun rookie Nia Clouden scored her first career points on a three-point basket in the fourth quarter. She finished the game with three points, one rebound, one assist, two steals and one block in 13 minutes off the bench.

The Sun return to the hardwood on Tuesday, May 17, to play the New York Liberty at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. at 7 p.m.

Ashja Jones in 2012 with the Sun.

CELEBRATION: In tandem with the Suns’ celebration of their 20th year in Connecticut, the team honored Sun and WNBA legend, Ashja Jones by retiring her No. 15. The Sun raised her number alongside other Sun greats in the rafters of Mohegan Sun Arena.

She is the fifth player to have her number retired by the Sun, joining Margo Dydek (12), Nykesha Sales (42), Katie Douglas (23), and Lindsay Whalen (13) in the rafters.

Jones played for the Sun for nine seasons from 2004-12. She currently sits second in games played, second in points, second in total rebounds, eight in assists, tenth in steals and fifth in blocks in franchise history. She played in two WNBA finals with the Sun in 2004 and 2005.

“I am the kind of person who likes to be in the background let other be up front, do my work and I take pleasure in that,” Jones said. “I really don’t love the spotlight but this was amazing to be honored in that way.”

During her time with Connecticut, Jones averaged 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.5 blocks per game. She was named a WNBA All-Star twice (2007, 2009) and All-WNBA Second Team in 2008. She was with Minnesota in 2015 when the Lynx won the WNBA title and she became one of 11 women to win an Olympic gold medal, a NCAA championship and a WNBA title.

Jones is currently the director of Basketball Strategy and Planning with the Portland Trail Blazers. She spent three seasons with the Washington Mystics and was part of the Mystics’ coaching staff in 2019 that won the WNBA championship.