Connecticut’s DeWanna Bonner (34), shown against Atlanta earlier this month, had a game-high 20 points in Sunday night’s win over Los Angeles. (Getty Images photo courtesy Connecticut Sun)
The Connecticut Sun limited the host Los Angeles Sparks to just 11 points in the fourth quarter and no field goals in the final 3:01 as Connecticut earned an 83-74 victory Sunday night to begin a three-game road trip.
DeWanna Bonner led the Sun with 20 points, nine rebounds and three steals while Brionna Jones had 17 points and eight rebounds.
The game was tied at 74-74 when Los Angeles’ Karlie Samuelson hit a 13-foot jumper with 3:01 remaining in the game. But it would be the last points that the Sparks scored in the game. Los Angeles (5-6) missed seven of their last eight shots from the floor and one was blocked.
Dijonai Carrington hit a pair of free throws with 2:48 remaining to give the Sun a two-point lead. The Sparks’ Nneka Ogumike missed a layup and Jones pulled down the rebound. At the other of the floor, Bonner missed her three-point attempt but Carrington pulled down the rebound and fed Jones, who scored on a layup with 1:54 remaining to extend the lead to four, 78-74.
Samuelson’s drive to the basket was blocked by Jones with 1:34 left, leading to a technical foul from Sparks’ head coach Curt Miller.
Bonner sank the technical foul and then scored on a driving layup with 1:14 remaining to extend the lead to 81-74. The Sparks missed three field goals in the final 34 seconds.
Alyssa Thomas had 16 points and a game-high 12 assists for Connecticut (9-3), who continues to lead the WNBA’s Eastern Conference. Carrington and guard Tiffany Hayes each had nine points for the Sun.
The Sun trailed 44-39 at halftime. “We really challenged them at halftime to be better defensively and we were,” Sun head coach Stephanie White said. ”We got back to our identity defensively and it allowed us to get some breakouts in transition and some confidence offensively.
“It was a tough gritty effort and we made winning plays in the second half,” White said.
Was endurance the difference?
“It was (our) focus,” Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas said, “and not wanting to lose.”
Seeing and trying to stop a familiar offense didn’t hurt either. Miller spent eight years in Connecticut with the Sun before heading to Los Angeles earlier this year.
“It was huge down the stretch,” Thomas said. “We ran that offense for seven years. We knew what he would call. We know that offense like the back of our hands so I definitely think it played to our favor.”
Connecticut travels to Seattle for a Tuesday night game with the Storm at 10 p.m., and finishes the road trip with a game at Minnesota on Thursday in the Twin Cities at 8 p.m.
Los Angeles was led by Nneka Ogwumike who tallied 19 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block.
Connecticut shot 53.1% (34-64) from the field, while Los Angeles was 41.2% (28-68) from the floor. The Sun outscored the Sparks in points in the paint (48-44), fast break points (19-11), and points off turnovers (19-12).
Connecticut 83, Los Angeles 74
At Los Angeles
Los Angeles (74) Stevens 5-10 0-0 12, N. Ogwumike 7-20 4-4 19, Hamby 4-12 0-0 8, Cooke 0-3 2-2 2, Canada 3-8 8-9 14, Thomas 0-3 0-0 0, C. Ogwumike 3-4 0-0 6, Samuelson 5-7 0-0 11, Henderson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-68 14-15 74
Connecticut (83) Bonner 7-15 4-5 20, Thomas 8-13 0-0 16, Jones 8-12 1-2 17, Hayes 4-5 0-0 9, Hiedemann 1-6, 0-0 3, Harris 3-6 0-0 7, Carrington 2-5 4-4 9, Nelson-Ododa 1-1 0-0 2, Allen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-64 9-11 83
Connecticut (9-3) 15 24 24 20 – 83
Los Angeles (5-6) 19 25 19 11 — 74
Three-point goals: Los Angeles (4-19) N. Ogumike, Stevens 2, Samuelson; Connecticut (6-15) Bonner 2, Hayes, Hiedeman, Harris, Carrington
