Sports: Stricklen leads Sun past the Wings, 92-75
Ties WNBA single-game record with eight 3-pointers in win over Dallas
Arlington, Texas — Shekinna Stricklen has said that she wasn't known as a 3-point shooter growing up. Stricklen is sure known for that skill now.
The three-ball has become a big part of Stricklen's identity in the WNBA. The Connecticut Sun veteran put her name in the league's record book on Sunday as she made eight 3-pointers to tie the WNBA's single-game record.
Stricklen finished with 24 points, five rebounds and three steals to help Connecticut beat the Dallas Wings, 92-75, before 4,935 at College Park Center.
“I had my teammates looking for me,” Stricklen said. “They're always looking for me, but I think I finally found the rhythm that I've been wanting to get into all season. It was great, and I had a lot of family here, so that brought a lot of energy to me also.”
Stricklen shot 8-of-13 from the field, including making 8 of 11 3-pointers. She tied the WNBA record shared by Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury (three times) and Riquna Williams (once), now of the Los Angeles Sparks.
Nykesha Sales and Stricklen had held the Sun franchise record (seven).
“We haven't always had the offense we needed to win,” Connecticut head coach Curt Miller said. “Tonight, led by Stricklen's eight threes, we shot the ball really well.”
The Sun (13-12) ended a two-game losing streak. They have a one-game lead over the Las Vegas Aces (12-13) for eighth place in the overall standings. Both teams have nine games left, and the top eight teams make the playoffs.
Courtney Williams had 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Connecticut and Jasmine Thomas had 11 points, nine assists and five rebounds with no turnovers. Jonquel Jones added 15 points and five re-
rebounds and Alyssa Thomas had nine points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Chiney Ogwumike had 10 points and five rebounds for the Sun before being ejected with five minutes, 53 seconds left in the game.
Connecticut also had a 12-5 edge in offensive rebounds against a team that starts Liz Cambage (6-foot-8, 215 pounds), the WNBA's second-leading rebounder, and Glory Johnson (6-3).
Offensive boards
The Sun used those offensive rebounds for a 20-10 advantage in second-chance points.
“What I put on the board before the game was boxing out and second-chance points,” Dallas head coach Fred Williams said. “Connecticut is number one in the offensive boards, and we are right behind them at number two. I felt like they were able to capitalize on getting a lot of second-chance points on us.
“They had a good perimeter game. Their post game too was pretty good at trying to defend (Wings center) Liz (Cambage) inside. They played some balanced basketball defensively.”
Cambage had 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Wings (14-11), who began the day with the league's best home record (9-3).
Johnson had 11 points and six rebounds and Skylar Diggins-Smith had eight points and three assists. The latter began Sunday as the league's ninth-leading scorer (18.5 ppg).
“This league is so much about scheduling and rest, and we knew this was their fifth game in nine days,” Miller said. “So we had to keep the tempo up, and we did that, so that contributes (to the result).
“Liz is such a dominant force, and we just kept trying to give her different looks, coming from different people. I thought we did a good job with our attention to Skylar, made her really work for her stuff.”
Connecticut led, 78-62, when Ogwumike was ejected. Dallas went a 9-0 run to cut the Sun's lead to 78-71 with 3:52 remaining.
Connecticut answered with a 14-2 run of its own with Jasmine Thomas scoring five.
Stricklen's last 3-pointer gave the Sun their largest lead, 92-73, with 31.3 remaining.