Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones each had 18 points to lead the Connecticut Sun to their fourth straight win with a 92-70 victory over the Indiana Fever Sunday in WNBA action.
It wasn’t easy.
The Sun were without All-Star DeWanna Bonner who didn’t make the trip to get some rest. Bonner just returned from Europe last week after finishing her commitment with her Turkish team. And then Jasmine Thomas left the game midway through the first quarter with an undetermined knee injury. She didn’t return and Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller didn’t have an update on her status immediately following the game.
“Tonight was a good road win for us against a team that won’t quit this year,” Miller said. “(Indiana) plays with a ton of energy at the fastest pace.”
The Sun held Indiana’s best shooter, Kelsey Mitchell, to just five points.
“That’s not just one person. That is a credit to all 10 (Sun) players in uniform. To hold Kelsey Mitchell to five points is insane,” Miller said. Mitchell had 23 against the Sun on Friday and had scored more than 20 points in four of her last five games.
The Sun (4-1) had a balanced scoring attack as four Sun players scored in double-digits. Brionna Jones added six rebounds and two steals, while Alyssa Thomas had six rebounds, six assists and two steals in the effort.
The Sun took care of the ball in today’s win, committing a season-low 14 turnovers. Connecticut scored 26 points off of 15 Indiana giveaways.
“Defensively, we were locked in,” Brionna Jones said. “We were executed our game plan offensively and we were moving the ball and getting our shots where we wanted to.”
Connecticut led after the first quarter, 26-15. Williams led the Sun with seven points and two rebounds in the opening ten minutes of action, contributing some of the offensive energy she was brought back to provide.
Connecticut extended its lead in the third quarter, 73-55. Williams had six points, two rebounds and two assists out of the locker room to lead the Sun in the third quarter.
Victoria Vivians led Indiana (2-6) with 15 points, one rebound, two assists and two steals.
The Sun return to action on Tuesday night with the first of back-to-back against Dallas on the Mohegan Sun Arena floor. Connecticut will also play the Wings on Thursday night home before closing out the week on Saturday by hosting Washington.
Connecticut 92, Indiana 70
At Indianapolis Connecticut (92) A. Thomas 7-4-18, J. Jones 6-0-13, B. Jones 6-6-18, J. Thomas 1-0-3, Williams 7-0-15, Holmes 0-0-0, Anderson 2-5-9, Hiedeman 3-0-9, Carrington 2-1-5, Clouden 1-0-2. Totals 35-68 16-20 92 Indiana (70) Engstler 5-1-11, Egbo 3-3-9, Robinson 1-0-2, K. Mitchell 2-1-5, Vivians 4-5-15, Smith 2-0-4, Coates 1-4-6, T. Mitchell 3-2-9, Henderson 1-4-6, Hull 0-3-3. Totals 22-63, 23-27 70
Connecticut (4-1) 26 28 19 19 — 92
Indiana (2-6) 15 26 14 15 — 70 Three-point goals: Connecticut (6-13) J. Jones 1-3, J. Thomas 1-1, Williams 1-3, Holmes 0-1, Hiedeman 3-4, Carrington 0-1, Indiana (3-17) Engstler 0-2, Robinson 0-1, Mitchell 0-3, Vivians 2-5, Smith 0-4, Mitchell 1-2
Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.
