Sun surge in second half, finally figure out Mystics

UNCASVILLE — Tied at 55-55 with the Washington Mystics and watching the shot clock wind down in the third quarter, Layshia Clarendon was desperate. She dribbled, searching for an open teammate, and when she found none she sent a shot sailing toward the basket from behind the arc.

The ball fell through the net, with fans inside Mohegan Sun erupting in cheers as Connecticut quickly got back on defense. Mystics guard Kristi Toliver couldn’t get her shot to fall, allowing Rachel Banham to grab the rebound and set Clarendon up for a layup.

After a rough first half, the Sun were suddenly up five and full of the energy and momentum they’d lacked in the first two quarters. They had found their rhythm, and that was all it took to for Connecticut to claw its way to an 83-75 win behind a 50-point second half.

“We were able to regroup at halftime and talk about their scheme against us that was giving us trouble,” coach Curt Miller said, “and we made some adjustments and did a muchbetter job attacking them offensively. It was a big, big win and a huge early series win. Will that make a difference somewhere down the line? I don’t know, but that’s a big series win against arguably the favorite this year in the league, so I’m proud of those guys.”

The Sun were led by Jonquel Jones, who finished with 24 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots, while Courtney Williams had 23 points and seven rebounds. Alyssa Thomas led the team in rebounds with 12, also adding five points and four assists, and Shekinna Stricklen went 4of-8 from behind the arc for 12 points. Clarendon ended the night with nine points, and Jasmine Thomas had two points and six assists.

Connecticut shot 47 percent from the floor and 47.6 percent from three against the Mystics, but it took a while for the offense to get going. They trailed most of the first half, turning the ball over eight times while struggling to get more players involved.

The Sun have been praised for their chemistry on offense this season, especially their passing, but they haven’t shot as well as Miller would like. Against Washington shots eventually started to fall, which didn’t surprise Miller after seeing his players voluntarily show up in the gym around noon after arriving from Atlanta at 2 a.m.

“Some of it is we’re just missing open shots and we’re getting shots that we like,” Miller said. “Other times it’s we’re forcing and not getting to the next action, but we’re too talented of a group to shoot that way all year. I thought we did a better job finding shots tonight, but they went in. It was a good night at the arc, too.”

Jones, who went 9-for-11, was a big part of keeping the Sun in the game during the first half and then powering them through the backand-forth third quarter. Her recent dominance has resulted in back-toback Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors, and Tuesday night was further proof of how critical she is to the Sun’s success.

“She played really tough, and that’s what we need out of her,” Miller said. “They kept a body on her all night, and it wasn’t her best rebounding effort, but she made plays when she needed to offensively with her back to the basket, which is going to be huge down the line for us.”

Kelli Stacy can be reached at kstacy@courant.com.