Stricklen has given the Sun a spark
Mohegan — Shekinna Stricklen is chill. Laid back. Perpetually smiling. No drama.
Stricklen has been, however, a fuse that sets off the Connecticut Sun this season.
“The thing subtly that we've picked up on as coaches is that when she shows emotion, and when she plays with emotion, it's contagious to the team,” Sun head coach Curt Miller said of Stricklen. “JJ (Jonquel Jones) will talk about when (Stricklen) plays with emotion, it fires other people up.
“It's something that you may not always see (from her) at practice, but in games, it's really motivated some of our players because they like when they see that fired-up Strick on the court.”
Connecticut will need Stricklen's fire Friday night when it plays host to Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury.
“(I'm) a lot more (emotive),” Stricklen chuckled. “It's my sixth year (in the WNBA). It's a young team. I think I'm the
fourth-oldest (she turned 27 on Sunday). And I have to say that this team is very comfortable with each other.
“(When teammate) Courtney (Williams) comes around, it's hard to not say nothing because she's going to make you say something. We just have fun, and I talk a lot more now for sure.”
Stricklen was particularly passionate when Connecticut rallied back from a 22-point, third-quarter deficit and beat the Washington Mystics, 96-92, on July 8. She made two 3-pointers during the Sun's third-quarter rally, including the final points of that period to cut her team's deficit to 81-73. Teammate Jasmine Thomas said afterward that it was Stricklen's energy and cheerleading that made her believe a comeback was possible.
“You get that competitive fire out of Jas (Jasmine Thomas) all the time,” Miller said. “You get that competitive (fire) out of AT (Alyssa Thomas). But when you start to see it from Strick, it really, really is noticeable by the rest of the team, and they thrive off of it.”
Stricklen is as comfortable as she's ever been during her three seasons in Connecticut and having her best season, too. She's averaging a career-high 26.6 minutes and sixth in the league in 3-point shooting (41.9). And while she's fifth on the team in scoring (8.1 ppg), her talent to make 3-pointers has opened things up for her teammates because she stretches the floor.
That Stricklen has been more efficient has been one of the best surprises on a team filled with them. Last season was the worst of her career and her struggles continued into early this season. She made just 4 of her 14 shots in the first five games.
Stricklen moved into the starting lineup after Morgan Tuck, then the team's
second-leading scorer, bruised her knee prior to Connecticut's May 31 game at Washington.
The change jumpstarted Stricklen. She shot 7 of 12 (including six 3-pointers) for a team-high 20 points in a 78-76 loss to the Mystics. Stricklen has started ever since. “You know the funny thing, though — the practice before that game, I couldn't hit a shot,” Stricklen laughed. “I could not. And my teammates were like, ‘It's all good. You're going to hit them all during the game.'
“I get confident from my teammates. … How they tell me, ‘Don't hesitate (to shoot).' They don't want me to hesitate at all. When you hear that from your teammates and your coach, it feels good.
“Jas will get mad at me (when I hesitate). She'll be like, ‘Why didn't you shoot?' (I'll answer) ‘My foot wasn't ready.' They're really confident in me.”
Friday night's game is impactful on the WNBA standings and both team's playoff hopes. Connecticut (14-9) is tied with Washington for third place, followed by Phoenix (13-10). The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs.
The Mercury have won two straight after losing their previous four games when Brittney Griner suffered a left knee bruise and a right ankle sprain during a July 14 game. The 6-foot-8 center leads the league in scoring (22.3) and is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner. She was expected to miss three-tofour weeks.
Taurasi has averaged 18.7 points, seventh-best in the league.
“Diana is one of the best, obviously, that's ever played in our league,” Miller said. “Then you also have really good and explosive guards all the way off the bench. (Leilani) Mitchell and (Monique) Currie are two veterans in this league that can go for 20 (points) on any night.”
• The Sun's game against the Mystics at Washington, postponed on July 28 due to a leak in the roof at the Verizon Center, has been rescheduled for Aug. 29. It will begin at 7:30 p.m., and be televised by NBA TV.