Chicago stifles Connecticut in fourth quarter to take 2-1 lead in series

Chicago’s Allie Quigley, left and Emma Meesseeman collapse on Connecticut’s DiJonai Carrington in game three of Sunday’s WNBA semifinal at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

UNCASVILLE, Sept. 4, 2022 – The Connecticut Sun wanted to turn game three of the WNBA semifinals with the Chicago Sky into a rock fight with lots of tough, hard-nosed defense and play in the paint.

The Sun were successful – and the Sky won anyways.

Chicago limited the Sun to just three field goals in the final 6:30 of the game to beat Connecticut, 76-72, before a vocal 9,142 at the Mohegan Sun Arena to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-5 WNBA semifinal on Sunday. Chicago is now just one win away from returning to the WNBA finals for the second straight year.

The Sun will try to keep their title hopes alive on Tuesday night in Uncasville with a win in game four to force a decisive game five in Chicago.

Chicago’s Candace Parker continues to amaze. The 36-year-old veteran led the Sky with 16 points, a team-high 11 rebounds and four assists along with three blocked shots. Kahleah Copper had 15 points while Emma Messerman added 13 points and a team-high six assists.

Dewanna Bonner had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Sun with Natisha Hiedeman sinking 14 points with Courtney Williams getting 12 points in her best playoff game of the season.

But the Sky pounded on the Sun’s inside game. Jonquel Jones had just six points, going 3-for-10 from the floor. Brionna Jones had 12 points but she was 4-of-11 shooting. Bonner was 4-of-14 from the floor with Thomas going 3-for-12 and missing her first eight shots of the contest.

Chicago collapsed two or three players on the Sun in the paint.

“They are an incredibly long (players with long arms),” Sun coach and general manager Curt Miller said. “We think we are getting point blank shots but their length can bother us. They are not easy to score against. You try so hard to get the catch (in the post) and then we’re not that efficient. We have to be more efficient around the rim.”

Brionna Jones drives to the basket in Sunday’s WNBA semifinal loss to Chicago in Uncasville.

The Sun have made a living scoring in the paint this season led by Jonquel Jones and Brionna Jones along with transition points from Bonner and Alyssa Thomas.

The Sky made it difficult on Sunday. The fact that Hiedeman and Williams had their best shooting games of the series kept the Sun in the game.

Connecticut took a 62-61 lead when Thomas grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast, driving to the Sun basket and a layup with 7:10 left in the contest. Kahleah Copper sank a pair of foul shots with 7:06 left to give the Sky a 63-62 lead.

Bonner grabbed an offensive rebound and put back a short three-foot shot for a 64-63 Sun lead with 6:40 remaining before a wide-open Copper sank a three-point shot with 6:30 left to give the Sky a 66-64 advantage.

We got the game the way we truly believe we can be successful,” Miller said. “Our defensive energy and effort was unwavering tonight. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to the finish line but our players have to be confident that we can make games against Chicago messy. This is the type of style we want and desire to have.”

Both teams buckled down defensively. Connecticut missed their next eight shots from the field. They had eight rebounds and a steal but couldn’t score. The Sky weren’t much better, sinking just 1-of-7 shots over a span of 5:29.

Meesseman’s 16-foot jumper with 2:26 remaining gave the Sky a 68-64 lead.

Williams’ 14-foot pullup jumper off an assist from Thomas with 1:45 left snapped the long drought for the Sun and cut the lead to two, 68-66.

Courtney Williams drives to the basket in Sunday’s loss to Chicago in the WNBA semifinals.

“You wondered if one team could have an offensive run and it got to the point where a team could put together back-to-back baskets,” Miller said. “In those empty possessions, we had turnovers and it felt like we were rushed at times. We just couldn’t put together that offensive run when we needed it.”

Said Parker, “It was a collective effort in terms of instinct and playing off rotations. I was proud of the way we made adjustments both individually and as a team down the stretch. In past years, we played great defense and then we could give up an offensive board. (Tonight) we were able to finish the play.”

Copper sank a pair of free throws with 1:27 left and then Meesseman scored on a pretty layup from Vandersloot with 1:14 left to extend the lead to six points, 72-66.

Thomas sank a driving layup with 43.7 seconds left and Bonner drained two foul shots with 22 seconds left to cut the lead to two, 72-70.

But Parker sank a pair of foul shots with 15.2 seconds left and Vandersloot did the same with 6.9 seconds to go to secure the game for Chicago.

The Sun led 21-18 after one quarter when Bonner drained a three-point shot as the buzzer expired. The Sky led 40-38 at the half thanks to 12 points from Parker.

Connecticut stretched their lead out to six, 38-32, with 1:40 remaining in the second quarter. However, the Chicago responded on a 6-0 run, hitting two three-pointers from Cooper and Messeeman, to tie the game at 38 apiece with 33.3 to go in the half

There were 12 lead changes in the game and it was tied 11 times. No one led by more than seven points.

Game three boxscore: Chicago 76, Connecticut 72

WNBA semifinals
(2) Chicago vs. (3) Connecticut
Sunday, Aug. 28
Connecticut 68, Chicago 63
Wednesday, Aug. 31
Chicago 85, Connecticut 77
Sunday, September 4
Chicago 76, Connecticut 72, Sky lead series, 2-1
Tuesday, Sept, 6
Chicago at Connecticut, 8 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 8
Connecticut at Chicago, TBA, if necessary