It was a lot of fun for the Connecticut Sun in Thursday night’s win over Seattle. The lead got as high as 37 points. From left, DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas, Tiffany Hayes and Natisha Hiedeman celebrate another fast break basket for the Sun.
UNCASVILLE, July 6, 2023 – Last week, against two of the top teams in the WNBA, the Connecticut Sun expended huge amounts of energy to stay with the New York Liberty and defending league champion Las Vegas Aces.
But both teams had too much for the Sun as the Liberty (12-4) beat the Sun by eight and the Aces (15-1) rolled away from the Sun in the second and third quarter last week in a 18-point victory.
Connecticut brought that same high intensity, grit and toughness that enabled them to compete with the Liberty and Aces to Thursday night’s game against the slumping Seattle Storm at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Sun hit 13 of their first 16 shots from the floor and limited Seattle to just six points in the first quarter as Connecticut blasted the Storm, 93-73 before 5,479 fans. Before the Storm outscored Connecticut by 15 points in the final quarter, the Sun were on their way to their most lopsided win over Seattle in franchise history.
Connecticut (13-5) led by as many as 37 points and had six players in double figures, led by All-Stars DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas with 16 points each. Rebecca Allen, Tiffany Hayes and Natisha Hiedeman each had 14 points for the Sun with Tyasha Harris sinking 11 points off the bench.
Seattle’s Jewell Loyd, the league’s leading scorer with a 25.8 point per game average, had 22 points but teammate Kia Nurse (11) was the only other Storm player that had more than 10 points. And most of Nurse’s points came in the fourth quarter when the game was long decided.
“We had a lot of (defensive) lapses in our last game but we were prepared tonight,” Thomas said. “(Stopping) the league’s leading scorer is not an easy job.”
The Sun opened the game on a 14-4 run with Thomas scoring five points with three assists and two rebounds. After a Seattle timeout, Connecticut closed out the quarter with a 15-2 run to take a 29-6 lead after one quarter.
Thomas had 11 points with Bonner and Allen scoring seven each. The Sun, who tied a franchise record with 11 first quarter assists, shot 72.2 percent from the floor while Seattle (4-13) was 17.6 on 3-of-17 shooting.
“Everything was going well for us,” Thomas said. “I think it was a great confidence booster for us and hopefully we can continue to bring this energy.”
Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas (25) shoots over Seattle’s Kia Nurse in Thursday’s WNBA game in Uncasville.
Added Sun coach Stephanie White, “We came out with a great intensity level and it led us to getting some easy offensive opportunities. I am really pleased with our defensive effort, especially in the first half.”
While the Sun were able to breathe a sigh of relief with their sixth straight win over Seattle, the Storm were stewing over a solid pounding from the Sun. Seattle has lost four in a row and six of their last seven games.
Seattle coach Noelle Quinn was asked about her team’s defense in the first quarter. “Atrocious. Non-existent. No resistance. It felt like open gym,” she said. “There was no discipline.”
Loyd has won two WNBA championships with the Storm but Brianna Stewart now plays in New York and legendary guard Sue Bird has retired. She didn’t look happy one bit even as the Storm’s reserves cut the Sun lead in the fourth quarter.
Gabby Williams, the former UConn star who plays Olympic basketball with France, isn’t in uniform yet as she continues to prepare herself to join the team.
“At the end of the day, we are pros. We get paid to play basketball. We have to show up,” Quinn said. “This is our livelihood.”
Thomas led Connecticut with 13 points, four rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one block in the first half. Bonner added 13 points, six rebounds, one assists, one steal and one block after 20 minutes of action. The Sun tallied a season-high 57 first half points, including 18 points off 15 Storm turnovers. The Sun’s 33-point halftime lead marked the largest halftime lead by any team this season.
The Sun return to action on Sunday when they host the Washington Mystics at 3 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Connecticut 93, Seattle 73
At Uncasville, Conn.
Seattle (73) Nurse 3-6 3-3 11, Horston 3-9 0-0 6, Magbegor 4-9 0-0 8, Loyd 6-13 7-9 22, Dojkic 1-3 2-2 5, Russell 0-2 0-0 0, Holmes 2-5 1-2 5, Mendjiadeau 4-7 0-0 8, Whitcomb 1-7 0-0 3, Turner 0-3 0-0 0, Melbourne 2-3 0-1 5. Totals 26-67 13-17 73
Connecticut (93) Allen 6-10 0-0 14, Bonner 5-7 3-3 16 Thomas 7-11 2-3 16, Hayes 5-10 3-3 14, Hiedeman 4-5 4-4 14, Brown 1-2 0-0 2, Harris 4-8 2-2 11, Nelson-Ododa 2-8 2-2 6, Dixon 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-63 16-17 93
Seattle (4-13) 6 18 21 28 — 73
Connecticut (13-5) 29 18 23 13 — 93
Three-point goals: Seattle (8-24) Nurse 2-5, Horston 0-1, Magbegor 0-1, Loyd 3-7, Dojkic 1-1, Holmes 0-2, Whitcomb 1-6, Melbourne 1-1; Connecticut (9-13) Allen 2-3, Bonner 3-4, Hayes 1-2, Hiedeman 2-2, Brown 0-1, Harris 1-1; Att. 5,479
