Connecticut’s Tiffany Hayes had a game-high 21 points in Thursday night’s win over Minnesota. (Getty Images photo courtesy Connecticut Sun)
In their first game without the injured Brionna Jones, the Connecticut Sun took care of business on Thursday night with a dominating 89-68 victory over the Minnesota Lynx in WNBA action.
Jones hurt her right ankle in the final minute of Tuesday night’s win over Seattle and did not dress on Thursday. Sun coach Stephanie White said before the game that Jones’ injury is still being evaluated.
On the floor, Tiffany Hayes drained four 3-point goals and had a game-high 21 points to lead Connecticut (11-3) with DiJonai Carrington coming off the bench to sink a career-high three 3-point shots and score a season-high 17 points. Alyssa Thomas scored 15 points, pulling down a team-high nine rebounds with DeWanna Bonner adding 11 points.
The Sun never trailed and led by as many as 27 points. The game was the final game of a three-game road trip that saw Connecticut sweep with victories over Los Angeles and Seattle.
“Collectively, everyone stepped up and everyone impacted the game,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “We talked about how important it was to give a little more without (Jones) on the floor. We were aggressive offensively and we were disruptive on the defensive end of the floor.
“It was probably the most complete game we’ve played for 40 minutes (this season),” shs said.
Connecticut sank a season-high 12 three-point shots and had a season-high six blocks.
The Sun led 27-17 after one quarter with Hayes scoring 14 points for Connecticut. Thomas had four quick points to open the second quarter for Connecticut to extend the lead to 14 points, 31-17. The Sun led by 13 at the half, 41-28.
The Sun didn’t take their foot off the gas in the third quarter, starting the second half with a 12-3 run to extend the lead to 19 points. Bonner had seven of her 11 points in the third quarter.
Carrington scored 10 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter to close out the game.
Former UConn star Napheesa Collier led the Lynx (4-9) with 21 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
The Sun return home to face Chicago on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Connecticut 89, Minnesota 68
At Minnesota
Connecticut (89) Allen 2-5 2-2 8, Bonner 2-7 5-5 11, Thomas 4-10 7-10 15, Hayes 8-16 1-1 21, Hiedeman 1-4 1-2 4, Nelson -Ododa 1-4 2-3 4, Carrington 5-8 4-4 17, Brown 0-0 1-2 1, Dixon 1-1 0-0 2, Harris 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 27-60 23-29 89
Minnesota (68) Carleton 1-6 1-2 4, Collier 9-20 2-2 21, Juhasz 4-7 0-0 8, McBride 1-3 1-1 4, Mitchell 2-7 2-4 6, Allen 3-11 2-2 8, Banham 1-9 2-2 5, Millic 1-8 4-4, Engstler 2-5 2-2 6. Totals 24-76 16-19. 68
Connecticut (11-3) 27 14 26 22 — 89
Minnesota (4-9) 17 11 15 25 — 68
Three-point goals: Connecticut (12-25) Allen 2-5, Bonner 2-4, Hayes 4-8, Hiedeman 1-3, Carrington 3-4, Harris 1-1; Minnesota (4-22) Carleton 1-5, Collier 1-5, Juhasz 0-1, McBride 1-1, Mitchell 0-1, Allen 0-1, Banham 1-5, Millic 0-1, Engstler 0-1
