Atlanta runs away, hands Connecticut their fourth straight loss

Connecticut’s Tina Charles  (31) shown in Friday’s loss to Minnesota had 11 points in Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Dream as the Sun lost their fourth straight game. (Photo by Ellen Schmidt/Getty Images)

Two days ago, the Connecticut Sun had a 15-point lead on the Minnesota Lynx with a bit more than five minutes to go. The Sun ended up losing the game but they showed some offensive spark.

On Sunday, the Sun had a really tough time in a 79-55 loss to the Atlanta Dream in College Park, Georgia to fall to 0-4 on the season.

The Sun scored a season-low 55 points and managed to score just seven points in the fourth quarter. Atlanta ripped down 52 rebounds – the third most ever by a Sun opponent. The last time that the Sun gave up more than 50 rebounds in a regular season game was in June 2015.

Nia Coffey and Allisha Gray each had 18 points for Atlanta (3-2) with guards Maya Caldwell and Rhyne Howard each adding 11 points. Former Sun star Brionna Jones had eight points against her old team.

The Sun had a 22-21 lead in the second quarter after a three-point shot from Bria Hartley but Atlanta responded with an 11-6 run to take a four-point lead that they would never relinquish. The Dream led 37-33 at the half.

Atlanta extended their lead to 11 points in the third quarter with an 18-11 run to begin the second half. The Sun missed their final eight field goal attempts in the third quarter as the Dream took a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Connecticut’s Olivia Nelson Ododa scored nine of her 11 points in the third quarter. Tina Charles scored 11 for the Sun while Marina Mabrey had a team-leading 12 points for Connecticut.

The Sun are off to their worst start since beginning 0-5 during the COVID-shortened 2020 season in the bubble in Florida.

Connecticut returns home on Tuesday night to face the winless Dallas Wings and No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

“We just look at yourself in the mirror and say what more can I do? How much more selfless can I be?” Charles said. “This is a young team. We’re just trying to stay positive trying to be optimistic. We can handle missed shots but it is about effort.”

Six of the players on the Sun roster are either rookies or second-year players. Eight of the 13 players on the team have three years of experience of less in the league.

Head coach Rachid Meziane said afterward that he likes to focus on the positive efforts of his team but was struggling to find some on this day.

“We gave up too many one-on-ones and our defense was terrible,” he said. “We can’t (continue to) play like we’ve been playing. We need to find some fire.”

Notable

• With 11 points in today’s game, Charles moved into sole possession of ninth all-time in scoring in Connecticut Sun history, passing Lindsay Whalen.
• Aneesah Morrow scored her first career points in today’s game, scoring three points, while also grabbing a career-high seven rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench.
• Connecticut’s 55 points and 14 assists mark new season-lows.
• The last time the Sun scored 55 points or less was on September 1, 2015, against the Indiana Fever.

Atlanta 79, Connecticut 55
At College Park, Ga.
Connecticut (55) Nelson Ododa 4-7 3-6 11, Charles 5-20 1-2 11, Mabrey 4-14 2-2 12, Sheldon 2-3 0-1 4, Rivers 1-5 0-0 2, Peters 0-0 0-0 0, Parks 0-2 0-0 0, Morrow 1-4 0-0 3, Marshall 0-0 0-0 0, Diaby 2-3 1-1 5, Hartley 2-9 2-2 7. Totals 21-67 9-14 55
Atlanta (79) Coffey 6-13 3-4 18, Jones 3-5 2-2 8, Gray 6-11 4-5 18, Caldwell 5-14 0-0 12, Howard 4-17 2-3 11, Hillmon 3-6 0-0 7, Thierry 0-1 0-0 0, Walker-Kimbrough 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 29-71 11-14 79
Connecticut (0-4)       16  17  15  7  — 55-
Atlanta (3-2)                 21  16  26  16  — 79
Three-point goals: Connecticut 4-15 (Charles 0-1, Mabrey 2-7, Sheldon 0-1, Parks 0-2, Morrow 1-1, Hartley 1-3; Atlanta 10-35 (Coffey 3-7, Jones 0-1, Gray 2-4, Caldwell 2-7, Howard 1-10, Hillmon 1-3, Thierry 0-1, Walker-Kimbrough 1-2)