Sun remain undefeated with OT win over Minnesota

The Connecticut Sun continually erased deficits Thursday night against the Minnesota Lynx. The Sun erased an early 13-point deficit and then erased a five-point deficit in overtime as Connecticut beat Minnesota, 83-82 in overtime at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

With Chicago’s win over New York earlier in the evening, the victory leaves the Sun (4-0) as the lone unbeaten team left in the WNBA.

Former UConn star Naphessa Collier laid the basket off the backboard and in with 11.6 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and send it into overtime. Minnesota scored seven of the first nine points in OT to take a five-point lead, 79-74, with 1:41 remaining.

Alyssa Thomas drove to the basket and Rachel Banham hit a three-point field goal with 40.8 seconds remaining to tie the game at 79-79. Collier sank one of two free throws to put the Lynx ahead by one point. The teams traded baskets and the Sun trailed by one with 13.6 seconds remaining.

DeWanna Bonner drove to the basket and was fouled by Collier with 7.4 seconds remaining. Bonner hit both foul shots to put the Sun up by one, 83-82. A last-second shot from Minnesota’s Kayla McBride was no good and the Lynx (2-1) had their first defeat of the season.

Bonner led the Sun with a team-high 20 points with Brionna Jones scoring a season-high 19 points with six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Thomas scored 18 points with seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Collier led all scorers with 31 points and a team-high 11 rebounds for the Lynx with former Sun guard Courtney Williams scoring 19 points with seven rebounds.

There were 14 lead changes and 12 ties in the ballgame.

The Sun led by as many as six early in the fourth quarter, 61-55 but Minnesota answered on an 8-2 run to tie the game, 63-63, forcing the Sun into a timeout with 5:34 remaining in the fourth.

A back-and-forth end to the quarter, left the Sun and Lynx tied 70-70, with 32.1 seconds remaining in the period. Thomas was able to score off a driving layup to give the Sun a 72-70 lead with 14.2 seconds on the clock. Minnesota called a reset timeout and capitalized off a set piece which ended with a Collier lay-in, tying the game once again, 72-72, with 11.6 seconds to go.

Connecticut 83, Minnesota 82, OT
At Uncasville
Minnesota (82) Miller 1-5 0-0 2, Collier 13-23 5-9 31, Smith 4-7 2-3 10, McBride 5-11 3-3  13. Williams 8-15 3-4 19, Pill 0-0 0-0 0, Carleton 1-3 0-0 3, Epouga 0-0 0-0 0, Hiedeman 1-3 2-4 4, Soule 0-0 0-0 0, Zandalashini 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-68 12-20 82
Connecticut (83) Bonner 6-12 6-7 20, Thomas 6-14 6-7 18, Jones 8-13 3-3 19, Carrington 3-9 2-2 8, Harris 3-8 0-0 7, Banham 2-5 0-0 6, Nelson-Ododa 0-1 0-0 0, Mitchell 2-5 1-2 5. Totals 30-67 18-21 83
Three-point goals: Minnesota 4-21 (McBride 3-8, Carleton 1-, Smith 0-1, Williams 0-1, Hiedeman 0-1, Zandalasini 0-1, Miller 0-3, Collier 0-3); Connecticut 5-11 (Bonner 2-4, Banham 2-4, Harris 1-2, Carrington 0-1)
Minnesota (2-1)           23  12  16  21  10  – 82
Connecticut (4-0)       14  23  15  20  11  — 83
Att: 6,152