Sun return to playoffs
Alyssa Thomas has 22 points as Connecticut wins its fifth straight
Arlington, Texas — The Dallas Wings have been one of the stingiest defensive teams in the WNBA this season. The Connecticut Sun still dropped over 100 points Wednesday on Dallas. And they're headed to the playoffs again.
Alyssa Thomas (22 points) was one of five Connecticut players to score in double figures as it beat the Wings, 101-92, before 3,483 at the College Park Center and qualified for the playoffs for the second straight season.
The Sun (17-12) have won five straight. They shot 56.3 percent against Dallas, which had the third-lowest defensive field goal percentage (.433) prior to the game.
Connecticut joins the Seattle Storm, Atlanta Dream, Washington Mystics and Los Angeles Sparks as playoff qualifiers. The top eight teams qualify and seeding is a huge factor. The bottom four teams play a single-elimination game in the first round. The winners play the third and fourth seeds in another one-and-done game.
The top two seeds get a double-bye to the best-offive semifinals.
“It's a credit to our team,” Sun head coach Curt Miller said. “We had a lot of adversity in the middle of the season with injuries. Some things happened within our team. They just stuck together.
“I think we're peaking at the right time. There's certainly still a lot to improve on these last five games, but we're excited to have the playoff berth secured now.”
Courtney Williams had 10 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals, Jonquel Jones had 17 points and four blocks, and Jasmine Thomas had 17 points, nine assists and two steals for Connecticut.
Chiney Ogwumike added 13 points and five rebounds for the Sun and Alyssa Thomas had five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Liz Cambage had 29 points, nine rebounds and four assists and Skylar Diggins-Smith had 18 points for Dallas (14-15), which has lost six straight.
Connecticut took advantage of 13 Wings' turn-
“It’s a credit to our team. We had a lot of adversity in the middle of the season. They just stuck together.” SUN COACH CURT MILLER, ON MAKING THE WNBA PLAYOFFS
overs and scored 18. It also had a 22-5 edge in fast break points, too.
The Sun took a 48-32 into the halftime and led for over three quarters.
Connecticut built on that lead in the third quarter. Alyssa Thomas made a driving layup, and Shekinna Stricklen had a steal and made a 3-pointer to give the Sun a 71-49 lead with four minutes, 6 seconds left in the quarter. Stricklen scored nine with three steals.
Dallas made a fourth-quarter run with Theresa Plaisance's 3-pointer cutting Connecticut's lead to 96-90 with 42.7 seconds left.
Layshia Clarendon made two free throws, Alyssa Thomas the first of two free throws, and Jasmine Thomas added two of her own to push the Sun's lead to 101-90 with 16.2 remaining.
Sun hold blood drive today
• Connecticut will host a blood drive to benefit the American Red Cross at Mohegan Sun Arena today from 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Free parking is available, and anyone who donates will receive a free ticket to the Sun's game on Tuesday, Aug. 14 as well as a tour of Mohegan Sun Arena. The Red Cross is facing a crucial blood shortage and is issuing an emergency call for eligible blood and platelet donors to give now and help save lives. Each donation can save up to three lives. In addition to a free ticket and arena tour, anyone who donates will receive a $5 Amazon.com gift card via email. To donate blood through the American Red Cross, individuals must be at least 17 years of age, weigh 110 pounds and be in general good health.