Sports: Sun play the Fever tonight at Mohegan Sun Arena
Mohegan — Layshia Clarendon joked during the preseason about her excitement when she got to finally got to play on the same side as Morgan Tuck during a Connecticut Sun practice.
Clarendon and Tuck got a little familiar with one another's style after the former was traded to the Sun on July 9, 2018, over halfway through the season. They also played together last September at the 2018 FIBA World Cup for USA Basketball, which won gold to earn an automatic berth in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Sun hope those two reserves and the rest of their bench continues to develop a vibe with one another.
Connecticut hosts the Indiana Fever tonight, three days after its 84-69 win over the short-handed and infirmed Washington Mystics.
Clarendon and Tuck both scored eight off the bench during Saturday's win. Tuck also made backto-back 3-pointers in the first minute of the second quarter on passes from Clarendon, giving the Sun their first double-digit lead, 28-18.
“We're really good at reading each other,” Tuck said. “She always finds me when I'm open for threes. Playing with her, it's always a good feeling because she's such a smart player and makes the right decision pretty much every time.”
Depth was an asset for Connecticut last season.
It was the only franchise that had five players average double-figures in scoring last year. It also led the league in bench points (31.8).
The Sun’s depth took a hit when post Chiney Ogwumike was traded in late April to the Los Angeles Sparks. She started almost every game last season, while fellow post Jonquel Jones came off the bench for 18 of 34 games after a slow start and earned WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year honors.
Jones starting again
Jones, a 2017 All-WNBA second-team pick, is back starting at center this season, so the Sun need production from others off the bench. None averaged more than 5.9 points (Tuck) last year.
“Tuck was a huge spark for us off the bench,” Connecticut head coach Curt Miller said after Saturday’s game.
“She would’ve logged more minutes if she would’ve stayed out of foul trouble in that first half.”
“Rachel Banham (seven points) gave us some offense. I think she’ll be disappointed with some of the missed assignments (defensively), but she gave us an offensive spark. Again, players in the fourth year (like Banham and Tuck) know the system; they’re comfortable.”
Now for something a little different
Clarendon played the entire second quarter and was part of one of Connecticut’s more curious lineups during the final six minutes, 24 seconds of the first half as she and Banham played alongside starters Alyssa and Jasmine Thomas and Jones.
That lineup gave the Sun two point guards in Jasmine Thomas and Clarendon.
“We had trouble getting (starting off-guard) Courtney (Williams) going offensively, so it gave us another ballhandler,” Miller said. “Layshia is so physical and can keep the pace up. Sometimes you’ll give up a little bit of shooting, but you get someone that’s a very vocal, a natural leader.
“You get two ball-handlers. You can take Jas off the ball a little bit, and you can give her a little bit of a rest (by letting Clarendon run the point) even when she is in the game.
“Layshia was the real story of that second unit. Her aggressiveness, her downhill mentality, really ran that second unit.”
Indiana opened its season with an 81-80, buzzer-beating win at the New York Liberty on Friday. n.griffen@theday.com
“Tuck was a huge spark for us off the bench. She would’ve logged more minutes if she would’ve stayed out of foul trouble in that first half.” SUN COACH CURT MILLER, ON THE PLAY OF MORGAN TUCK IN SATURDAY’S OPENING GAME