Golden State hands Connecticut their sixth straight loss

Connecticut’s Aneesah Morrow (24) dribbles against Golden State’s Laeticia Amihere in Sunday night’s WNBA game. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

Kayla Thornton scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds as the expansion Golden State Valkyries beat the Connecticut Sun on Sunday night in San Francisco, 87-63 for their fifth win in the last six games.

The Sun (2-12) lost for the sixth straight time – their longest losing streak since 2016. The franchise record for consecutive losses is seven in 2015 and 2013.

Golden State (7-6) took command in the second quarter with a franchise record 36 points, turning a three-point lead after one quarter into a 27-point lead at the half. Golden State sank 10-of-18 field goals in the second quarter with Thornton scoring 14 by going 7-of-7 from the field.

The Sun were held to 12 points in the second quarter and converted on just 4-of-16 shots in the quarter.

Marina Manbrey didn’t play for the Sun with an injured knee. Rookie Aneesah Morrow led the Sun with 14 points with second-year guard Jacy Sheldon scoring 10. Veteran Tina Charles had nine points in 20 minutes of action.

Former Sun players Tiffany Hayes scored 14 points while Veronica Burton added 10. Former UConn favorite Kaitlyn Chen scored her first WNBA field goal  in the game on a driving layup to the basket in the second quarter and finished with five points.

“We played this game without energy. We didn’t play with fire, energy and intensity. At this level, we can’t afford to play without confidence and intensity,” Sun head coach Rachid Mezlane said.

The Sun tallied a season-high 11 blocks in the game. The last time Connecticut had 10+ blocks in a game was May 25, 2021, when the team recorded 11 blocks against Seattle. Olivia Nelson-Ododa recorded a career-high five blocks to lead the Sun in that stat category.

“When you go through a time like this, it is a test. Because the easy way out is to point fingers at all of the things that are not going well,“ Sheldon said. “We’re trying to find ways to build each other up and get better. This tests you as people and as a teammates.”

The Valkyries outrebounded the Sun, 51-35. The rebound count marks the second time this season a Sun opponent has grabbed 50+ rebounds and just the 8^th time in a regular season game in franchise history.

This was the first game of a four-game West Coast road trip for Connecticut, who heads to Las Vegas for a Wednesday night contest.

Golden State 87, Connecticut 63
At San Francisco
Connecticut (63) Morrow 4-9 5-7 14, Charles 3-9 3-4 9, Hartley 2-8 1-1 7, Sheldon 3-8 2-2 19, Rivers 1-6 0-0 2, Peters 1-4 0-0 2, Nelson-Ododa 0-5 4-6 4, Marshall 2-4 1-1 5, Allen 3-7 0-0 7, Brown 1-6 0-0 3, Lacan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-66 16-21
Golden State (87) Thornton 6-4 7-7 21, Talbot 2-6 2-4 6, Billings 2-4 0-0 4, Hayes 5-12 2-2 14, Burton 3-8 2-3 10, Bibby 4-11 0-0 11, Amiher 3-9 4-5 10, Powers 0-1 2-2 2, Martin 0-8 1-2 1, Hall 1-2 1-3 3, Chen 2-3 1-1 5. Totals 28-78 22-29
Connecticut (2-12)             20  12  13  18  — 63
Golden State (7-6)              23  36  14  14  — 83
Three-point goals: Connecticut 7-24 (Morrow 1-2, Charles 0-2, Hartley 2-6, Sheldon 2-6, Rivers 0-3, Allen 1-3, Brown 1-2); Golden State 9-31 (Thornton 2-6, Talbot 0-3, Billings 0-1, Hayes 2-4, Burton 2-5, Bibby 3-7, Amihere 0-2, Martin 0-1, Hall 0-1)