Streaking Sun hand Lynx their first defeat

St. Paul, Minn. — It was understandably difficult for anyone outside the Connecticut Sun locker room to take them seriously prior to this year. Four straight losing seasons will do that to a team's reputation.

It certainly seemed like the same old, same old when the Sun lost their first four games.

Lately, Connecticut has given its fans some hope for the future. It had won three straight games and four of its last five prior to Saturday night's game at the unbeaten Minnesota Lynx.

It might be time to start taking the Sun seriously now.

Alyssa Thomas had 20 points along with a game-high eight rebounds and eight assists as Connecticut beat the Lynx 98-93 before 10,121 at Xcel Energy Center.

The Sun are 5-5. They shot a season-best 55.4 percent (41of-74) from the field. Minnesota is 9-1. "I'm really proud of them," second-year Connecticut head coach Curt Miller said. "It's a great team win. We had six players in double figures. I'm really proud of the way the team battled and hung on at the end."

Holding onto late leads had been an issue for the Sun. Not Saturday night. They led by eight points with one minute, 35 seconds left when Minnesota's Maya Moore hit a 16-foot jumper.

Moore followed with a 28-foot heave that bounced off the front rim, then high off the backboard, and in for to cut the Sun's lead to 96-93 with 21 seconds remaining.

Jasmine Thomas missed two free throws just two seconds later for Connecticut.

Moore missed a 3-pointer on the other end and the Sun's Jonquel Jones was fouled with six seconds left. She made both free throws to ice the game.

Jasmine Thomas had 20 points, six assists,six rebounds and three steals for Connecticut while Jones added 16 points, eight rebounds, four steals and four blocks.

Also for the Sun, Courtney Williams had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists, Shekinna Stricklen had 13 points and four rebounds, and Rachel Banham scored 11 in 14 minutes off the bench.

Moore had a game-high 22 points with four rebounds, four assists, four assists and two steals for the Lynx. Lindsay Whalen scored 15.

Minnesota center Sylvia Fowles, who has played at an MVP level, made 5 of her 9 shots for 12 points and seven rebounds. Fowles was second in the WNBA in both scoring (21.9) and rebounding (10.1) prior to Saturday.

Connecticut continues to win without some of its key pieces. Starting power forward Morgan Tuck missed her fifth straight game to a knee contusion and didn't travel with the team. Reserve post Lynetta Kizer (back) didn't dress for a third consecutive game.

Starting shooting guard Alex Bentley is playing with Belarus at the FIBA EuroBasket Women's tournament, a qualifier for next year's world championships.

It was the third and final regular season game between the Sun and Minnesota. The Lynx had won the first two meetings.

Connecticut trailed by a point with 7:31 left in the game when Jones, its 6-foot-6 center, made a 23-foot step-back 3-pointer to put her team ahead, 81-79. Alyssa Thomas followed with a layup.

Whalen made a 3-pointer on the other end for the Lynx. Reserve Kayla Pedersen, who signed with the Sun last Saturday, answered with a 15-foot jumper. Jasmine Thomas followed by stealing a Whalen pass and converting it into an open layup on the other end. Banham's 3-pointer pushed Connecticut ahead, 90-82, with 5:01 remaining.

The Sun's play again Friday at the New York Liberty.