The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Sun done in by Dream in opener
Former Husky Hayes has 19 points to power Atlanta win
UNCASVILLE » The numbers on the final box score might look impressive to casual onlookers, but neither Morgan Tuck nor Jonquel Jones were in the mood to celebrate any of their individual accomplishments in the wake of a disappointing opening act to their second WNBA seasons.
Tuck, the former UConn AllAmerican, had a game-high 21 points while Jones pulled down 20 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the visiting Atlanta Dream emerged with an 81-74 victory before a crowd of 6,444 at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday night.
Sun coach Curt Miller estimated that his team missed twice as many shots as they made in the lane. Both Tuck and Jones had costly misses in the final few minutes.
“There is no excuse for that,” said Jones, who also had eight points and two blocked shots. “I don’t even think they were that physical, we just weren’t finishing. We have to get in the gym and be better at it. We are professionals so there is no excuse for that.”
The Sun led briefly in the early stages on a Jasmine Thomas 3-pointer, but Hayes erased that in a hurry with five quick points. The Sun would not lead again until a Thomas basket in the third quarter. However, Damiris Dantas scored six straight points to put Atlanta back in front. The Dream would lead 6458 at the end of the third quarter.
The game was tied at 70 and again at 72. Former Hillhouse High star Bria Holmes and UConn graduate Tiffany Hayes delivered some clutch plays down the stretch as the Dream won its first game during a season when it will be playing without All-Star Angel McCoughtry.
Hayes had six of her 19 points in
in the fourth quarter, while Holmes also had six points in the final quarter en route to finishing with 15 points. Layshia Clarendon added 14 points while Damiris Dantas had 13 points for the Dream.
Courtney Williams, who like Tuck and Jones was a first-round pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft, finished with 18 points off the bench for the Sun which went mostly with a seven-player rotation.
The Sun had to play in closing minutes without team leader Alyssa Thomas who is in concussion protocol after a collision according to Miller. That left even more of the responsibility on a group of players still learning how to be pros.
“When you are out there, you have to take the lumps when you have them but I think it is going to make us better in the long run,” Tuck said. “We will watch the film so we can improve in the next one.”
Connecticut was whistled for 15 fouls in the first half and the Dream made the Sun pay by going 21 for 21 from the foul line in the first and second quarters to tie the WNBA record for most foul shots made in a half without a miss. The foul shooting performance helped Atlanta take a 51-42 lead at halftime.
Atlanta wouldn’t attempt its first foul shot in the second half until Hayes was fouled taking a jumper with 2:34 left and the game tied at 72.
Atlanta would outscore Connecticut 25-13 at the foul line as the Dream missed just two free throws and the Sun missed seven.