Connecticut’s DeWanna Bonner had 32 points Tuesday night in the Sun’s win over Dallas. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images, courtesy Connecticut Sun)
DeWanna Bonner had 32 points, eight rebounds and four assists to help lift the Connecticut Sun to an 88-83 WNBA victory Tuesday night over the Dallas Wings.
At the age of 35, Bonner is Connecticut’s leading scorer, averaging 18.2 points per game as the Sun won for the fifth time in the last six games. And she had a new wingman in this contest with veteran Tiffany Hayes sinking a season-high 28 point and dishing out five assists.
Bonner and Hayes were perfect from the free throw line with Bonner sinking 11-of-11 from the charity stripe and Hayes hitting 10-of-10. The two players combined for 60 of Connecticut’s 88 points. Bonner sank four free throws in the final minute.
Dallas (13-10) tied the game at 76-76 before Hayes drained a 25-foot three-point shot with 3:07 remaining to give Connecticut the lead for good. With 1:56 remaining, Bonner hit a three-point shot to sweep the lead to six.
The Wings cut it to four but Bonner again hit a floater in the lane with 1:06 remaining to boost the lead back to six.
Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas with 25 points with Teaira McCowan added 21 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. Satou Sabally had 16 points and corralled 13 rebounds.
The Sun led by eight in the second quarter before going into an offensive swoon. Dallas led by as many as 12 points before Connecticut cut the lead to two at halftime, 42-40.
In the third quarter, the Wings boosted their lead to seven, 56-49, with 4:31 remaining but Connecticut regrouped and cut the lead to one by the end of the third quarter, 64-63. Hayes scored 12 points in the quarter for the Sun.
“Offensively we got away from what was working for us in the first half, sharing the basketball, moving side to side,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “I felt we got stagnant and people tried to do it themselves and it wasn’t working for us.”
Bonner scored 13 of her 32 points in the fourth quarter.
“A gritty, tough effort. We found ways in the third quarter to keep us in the ballgame by getting to the free throw line,” White said. “Tiffany was just outstanding from the opening tip. DB was huge, knocking down shots and finding different ways to score, making winning plays at both ends of the floor.”
Natisha Hiedeman, after scoring 39 points and sinking 11 of 15 from three-point range in back-to-back games last week against Atlanta, had nine points and two assists. Alyssa Thomas had eight points, 10 rebounds and a team-leading seven assists.
The Sun return to action on Sunday when they host the Minnesota Lynx at 1 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Connecticut 88, Dallas 83
At Dallas
Connecticut (88) Bonner 9-20 11-11 32, Thomas 3-9 2-5 8, Hayes 8-15 10-10 28, Allen 3-7 0-0 7, Hiedeman 4-9 0-0 9, Nelson-Ododa 2-2 0-0 4, Harris 0-3 0-1 0. Carrington 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-66 23-26 88
Dallas (83) Howard 4-11 1-2 9, Sabally 6-15 3-5 16, McCowan 8-15 5-8 21, Ogunbowale 9-19 3-3 25, Dangerfield 1-6 0-0 3, Kuier 0-3 0-0 0, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Sims 1-1 0-0 2, Burton 2-5 2-2 7, Totals 31-76 14-20 83
Connecticut (18-6) 27 13 23 25 — 88
Dallas (13-10) 24 18 22 19 — 83
Three-point shots: Connecticut 7-24 (Bonner 3-10, Hayes 2-6, Allen 1-3, Hiedeman 1-3, Harris 0-1, Carrington 0-1) Dallas 7-21 (Sabally 1-5, Ogunbowe 4-9, Dangerfield 1-4, Burton 1-3)
