Sports: Sun beat Sparks, 94-75, in Game 1 of WNBA semifinal playoff series
Balanced Sun pull away late and grab Game 1 of series
Mohegan — One of the biggest baskets in Tuesday's WNBA semifinal was the result of one of Connecticut's shortest players setting a nifty screen for their tallest to hit a 3-pointer.
The Sun may not have former MVPs and Olympians, but they're different. And it works really well for them.
Jonquel Jones, all 6-foot-5 of her, made a 3-pointer thanks to a screen by Courtney Williams off an inbounds play with four minutes left to give the Sun a seven-point lead.
The basket helped the second-seeded Sun pull away late for an 84-75 win in Game 1 of the best-offive series before 7,102 fans at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Game 2 is at the Arena on Thursday (6:30 p.m., ESPN2).
“We're unconventional,” Connecticut's Jasmine Thomas said. “We're versatile. We're different in (what our players can do) and we definitely play off those mismatches at times.”
Alyssa Thomas, a rock-solid 6-2
power forward who handles the ball like a point and rebounds like a post, finished with 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Williams, an off-guard who has ups that allow her to rebound taller than her size, had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Jasmine Thomas had 19 points and eight assists and did a great job defending All-World point guard Chelsea Gray.
Jones, the league's leading rebounder, made two 3-pointers and finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for the Sun.
“We have great balance,” Connecticut head coach Curt Miller said. “You look at the stat sheet. Jasmine takes 16 shots. JJ takes 15 shots. Williams takes 17 shots. Alyssa Thomas takes 17 shots.
“We're at our best when we're sharing, distributing (the ball). And don't take that the wrong way that I don't think that they're all stars in their own right, but we know we're better when we have the balance. … You just can't load up on one person.”
Candace Parker had 24 points and 10 assists for the third-seeded Sparks and Nneka Ogwumike had 20 points and 10 rebounds. They were the only Los Angeles players in double figures.
A big key to the Sun's win was their defense on Los Angeles offguard Riquna Williams and Gray. The two combining to shoot 3-of-17 for 8 points.
Williams shot 7 of 12, including 5 of 3 3-pointers, for a game-high 21 points in Los Angeles' 84-72 win over the Sun on Aug. 25
Jones broke a 64-all tie on a putback with 6 minutes, 24 seconds left. Jasmine Thomas followed with an 18-foot jumper to push the Sun's lead to 68-64.
Gray made an 18-foot jumper on the other end for the Sparks, but Williams, after grabbing a defensive rebound, hit a 19-foot pullup jumper in transition.
Jones followed moments later with her 3-pointer to give Connecticut a 73-66 lead with 4 minutes left.
The Sun went cold in the second quarter and fell behind 40-37 at halftime. They opened the second half with the long ball.
Shekinna Stricklen, Jasmine Thomas, and Stricklen again made 3-pointers to put Connecticut ahead 46-42 just 1:31 into the third quarter.
Connecticut couldn't extend its lead further. Parker's 3-pointer put L.A. ahead 58-57 with 10 seconds left in the third. n.griffen@theday.com