New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Thomas’ return sparks Sun to 13th straight win
UNCASVILLE — For the first time in nine months, the Sun’s Alyssa Thomas stepped onto the court dressed in her jersey, ready to play.
About four minutes into the first quarter, Thomas, who has spent the season on the sideline recovering from tearing her Achilles tendon in January, checked into the game. The Connecticut bench jumped up in excitement. The crowd cheered before she even touched the ball.
Less than three minutes later, Thomas drove into the key. She spun, lost her defender and laid the ball into the basket. Her first points in the WNBA in over an year.
The Sun’s “engine” was back, sparking the home team to a 98-69 win over the Liberty for a franchise record 13th straight victory.
Already holding the No. 1 spot for the upcoming WNBA Playoffs, the Sun (25-6) hosted the New York Liberty (11-20) Wednesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena with the intention to get Thomas minutes in a regular season game before bringing her into the playoff environment.
The Liberty, who are still in contention for the final playoff spot with two other teams, brought the win-orgo-home competitiveness but couldn’t contain it against an unsettling Sun team.
New York suffocated the Sun on offense during the first quarter and forced eight turnovers on a Connecticut team that came out almost too relaxed and shot just 5-of-18. The Liberty grabbed the easy steals and scored eight points off the Sun’s turnovers to lead by as much as 11. Even with the return of Thomas, who played six minutes in the first quarter, the Sun struggled to get past the Liberty’s defense.
Connecticut’s length under the rim was continually challenged by New York’s Natasha Howard, who stands 6-foot-2 and put up 14 points in the first half. Wednesday was the first time all season the Sun had faced Howard, after she had sat out with an injury during the team’s previous meetings this season.
The Sun’s finally shined after Natisha Hiedeman’s third 3-pointer of the game led to a 9-5 Connecticut run in the second quarter. But the Liberty didn’t back off and tied the game at 40 with 2:47 left in the half. New York played the half ’s final minutes as if it was the end of the game, pushing back on each of Connecticut’s drives and calling a lastsecond timeout to go into intermission with a 47-44 lead.
A 3-pointer from the Sun’s Briann January and a long-jumper from Jonquel Jones put Connecticut ahead 57-54 minutes into the third quarter as New York called timeout hoping to slow the pace it had lost during halftime. The Sun had worn down the Liberty’s offense with its swarming defense, double-teaming Howard and even forcing floor general Sabrina Ionsecu into turnovers and drawing personal fouls.
The Sun came out of New York’s timeout and continued its run, even bringing Thomas back in once the team got ahead by double digits.
Connecticut put up 17 unanswered points before the Liberty could respond — a pair of free throws from Howard— and finished the third quarter in complete control. The Sun ran away with the game in the fourth and led by as much as 31.
Once it was clear the Sun’s win streak was in tack, the crowd stood on its feet and cheered as Miller pulled Thomas out of the game with three minutes remaining. In her first game back, Thomas played 17 minutes, scored six points and grabbed three rebounds, one steal and dished one assist.
Howard led all players on Wednesday with 25 points, followed by the Sun’s Jones and DeWanna Bonner with 18 each.
The Sun conclude the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 19, against the Atlanta Dream at 1 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena. The game, which like Wednesday’s doesn’t have impact on the team’s standing ahead of playoffs, will be another chance to get Thomas livegame minutes before the team releases their engine in the playoffs.
ROOM FOR THE ROOKIE
Connecticut’s lone rookie, DiJonai Carrington, played ample minutes during Wednesday’s rout over the Liberty, making a career high 14 points and three steals.
A SUN ENGAGEMENT
The Sun’s Natisha Hiedeman and Jasmine Thomas announced their engagement Wednesday morning on Instagram. Miller said the team hosted a mini champagne toast in the locker room following the game to celebrate the couple.