With a triple double, Reese leads Chicago to win over Connecticut

Connecticut’s Olivia Nelson-Ododa (10) guards Chicago’s Angel Reese (5) during Sunday’s WNBA game in Uncasville. (Photo by Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images)

Connecticut Sun fans have been blessed over the past decade to watch three-time WNBA forward Alyssa Thomas score, rebound and dish the ball to her teammates.

She holds the league record with 14 triple doubles – scoring 10 or more points, pulling down 10 or more rebounds and dishing out 10 or more assists in a single game. She was the engine that drove the Sun.

Sun fans got to see another triple double performance on Sunday courtesy of Chicago’s Angel Reese. The second-year forward scored 11 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and dished out 11 assists as the Sky pulled away from Connecticut in the fourth quarter with a 78-66 decision Sunday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in front of 8,451 fans

It was her first career triple double.

Rookie guard Haley Van Luth came off the bench for Chicago (3-7) and scored a career-high 16 points, connecting on six of her eights from the floor. Former UConn guard Kia Nurse added 11 points for the Sky, going 4-for-4 from the floor with three shots from three-point range.

“I’ve been a passer my whole career,” Reese said. “I am trying to get back to being super versatile. I am still trying to figure it out. Tonight, it came up big. We made a lot of big shots tonight.”

Marina Mabrey led the Sun with 22 points and was 5-of-12 from three-point range while Tina Charles had 19 points. Second-year guard Jacy Sheldon scored 12 points but the Sun got little other help at the offensive end of the floor. Bria Hartley scored six points and the Chicago bench outscored the Sun bench by a whopping 36-2 margin.

“Collectively as a team, we have to recognize the flow of the game,” Mabrey said. “We need to do a better job of recognizing what is going on the game.”

Connecticut dropped to 2-8 and matches their worst start after 10 games in team history. They were also 2-8 in 2016.

The Sun led by three, 48-45 with 3:58 remaining in the third quarter and the game was tied at 48 before Reese hit a jumper with 2:56 remaining to give the Sky the lead. The Sun missed four of their next six shots from the floor and had two turnovers.

Chicago led 59-54 after three quarters. Connecticut never got any closer

“Angel catapulted use tonight but we got great contributions from all around,” Chicago head coach Tyler Marsh said. “We stayed with it. We didn’t overreact to the runs that Connecticut made and that is the kind of poise that kept us in it.”

He praised Reese for the all-around effort.

“She came through the entire game,” Marsh said. “Whether it was defending, whether it was facilitating, whether it was rebounding, whether it was scoring, she was creating a lot of congestion in the paint and was able to find shooters.”

“She was great across the board tonight and we needed every bit of it,” he said.

Mabrey’s 22-point performance was her fourth game of the season with at least 20 points. Sheldon had a team-high three steals while Charles pulled down six rebounds andhad a steal.

The game was tied seven times and the lead changed 17 times, primarily in the first half.

Connecticut began the game with an 8-0 run as the Sky missed their first seven shots from the field. Chicago used a 14-4 run to get back into the game. Charles had six points in the first quarter.

Mabrey had 16 of her 22 points in the first half. Charles notched 11 of her 19 points in the third quarter.

The Sun return to action on Wednesday night when they host the Phoenix Mercury at 7 p.m. and former star Alyssa Thomas.

PRO BASKETBALL
Chicago 78, Connecticut 66
At Uncasville
Chicago (78) Reese 2-7 7-7 11, Cardoso 3-8 4-4 10, Allen 0-8 0-0 0, Nurse 4-4 0-0 11, Atkins 4-11 0-0 19, Onyenwere 3-5 1-1 7, Williams 3-7 2-2, Banham 2-5 0-0 5, Van Lith 6-8 3-4 16. Totals 27-63 17-18 78
Connecticut (66) Nelson Ododa 2-6 1-4 5, Charles 8-20 2-2 19, Hartley 3-10 0-0 6, Mabrey 7-17 3-4 22, Sheldon 4-5 2-2 12, Diaby 1-2 0-0 2, Allen 0-3 0-0 0, Brown 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-64 8-12 66
Chicago (3-7)           14  24  21  19  — 78
Connecticut (2-8)   16  20  18  12  — 66
Three-point goals: Chicago 7-20 (Reese 0-2, Allen 0-4, Nurse 3-3, Atkins 2-4, Onyenwere 0-1, Banham 1-4, Van Lith 1-2); Connecticut 8-22 (Charles 1-3, Hartley 0-3, Mabrey 5-12, Sheldon 2-2, Allen 0-2, Brown 0-1).