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Connecticut beats Indiana for record 27th victory

DiJonai Carrington scored 10 points in Friday night’s win over Indiana.

The Connecticut Sun gave up a season-low 59 points and the Sun earned a franchise-record 27th victory in a 76-59 win over the Indiana Fever Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Connecticut (27-12) set a new single-season mark for most regular season wins as the Sun had five players score in double figures, led by Tiffany Hayes with 14 points, two rebounds and an assist. MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas had 10 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and a steal, recording her league-leading 28th double-double.

DeWanna Bonner had 10 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks in the win over the Fever with Natisha Hiedeman scoring 10 with three shots from three-point range. DiJonai Carrington, who had missed the last five games with a foot injury, played and finished with 10 points, six rebounds and a steal.

Leading by five midway through the first quarter, the Sun closed out the quarter with a 13-2 run to take a 16-point lead into the second quarter. Hiedeman had nine points in the quarter.

Connecticut led by as many as 21 points in the second quarter before the Fever cut the lead to six, 37-31 at the break.

The Sun led by eight, 46-38 with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter before closing out the quarter with a 13-6 run to extend their lead to 15 points. Hayes had 11 points in the quarter for Connecticut.

Indiana (12-27) was led by Kelsey Mitchell who tallied 15 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals in the effort.

The Sun close out the regular season on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Chicago at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

According to information from the league, Connecticut opens up their best-of-3 WNBA quarterfinal series on Wednesday when they host the No. 6 seed at 8 p.m. (ESPN2) at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Game two is Sunday, Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Game 3, if necessary, will be on the road on Wednesday, Sept. 20.

It looks like the No. 6 seed will be either Minnesota (19-20) or Atlanta (19-20). A Minnesota win on Sunday at home against Indiana and an Atlanta loss to Dallas would allow the Lynx to earn the No. 5 seed and set up a series with the Sun and Atlanta.

However, if Atlanta beats Dallas or the Lynx lose to Indiana, then the Sun will face Minnesota.

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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