Bonner carries the Sun past the Storm
Veteran scores 15 of her game-high 20 in the fourth quarter as Connecticut wins
Mohegan — Ask DeWanna Bonner how she's doing on any given day and the Connecticut Sun veteran will most likely answer, “I'm old.”
On a Friday night in which a sizable percentage of the 7,088 fans came to Mohegan Sun Arena to see the Seattle Storm's Breanna Stewart and most especially old favorite Sue Bird, it was Bonner who shined when it counted.
Bonner scored 15 of her game-high 20 in the fourth and added 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead the Sun to an 82-71 win.
Connecticut (12-4) clinched the season series against the Storm (9-6). It won at Seattle on June 5, 93-86.
Bonner missed 10 of 12 shots through three quarters. She made six of her seven field goals in the fourth, including two threes.
“My teammates, man, they just kept telling me to keep shooting, it's going to fall, it's going to fall at the right time,” Bonner said. “That's what (happened). Once I got one going, I felt a little bit better. They just told me to keep staying aggressive because I think I passed up a couple of shots (earlier).”
Jonquel Jones had 17 points, 13 rebounds and four assists for the Sun and Brionna Jones added 19 points. Alyssa Thomas added 10 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Connecticut shot 52.2-percent. Stewart led Seattle with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Bird scored 14 with four assists.
Connecticut had gone cold in the third quarter (it shot 35.3-percent from the floor) and needed someone to get rolling. That someone was Bonner.
Bonner tied the game with a tough 14-foot pullup jumper and followed with a three to put the Sun ahead to stay, 6562, with 7 minutes, 13 seconds left.
Bonner continued to stay hot late. She made a jumper and then caught a crosscourt pass from Thomas by the Seattle basket for a layup and a 76-68 Sun lead with 3:06 remaining.
“We really struggled through three quarters with our wing production,” Connecticut head coach Curt Miller said. “Our shooting percentage, as good as they were (inside) from JJ and Breezy (Brionna Jones), they were equally as bad from our wing players. We weren't getting any offense out of the wing play
“My teammates, man, they just kept telling me to keep shooting, it's going to fall, it's going to fall at the right time. That's what (happened). Once I got one going, I felt a little bit better.”
CONNECTICUT SUN FORWARD/GUARD DEWANNA BONNER
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“DB got a tough two to fall and then she got a couple of threes. She had a really big offensive quarter when we needed it from a wing player.”
Bird and Jewell Loyd opened the second half with threes as Seattle outplayed the Sun in the third quarter, outscoring them 26-14.
Stewart, in particular, took over the game. She made 5 of 8 field goals, including two 3-pointers, and scored 14 in the third quarter. Her 7-foot jumper put the Storm ahead, 58-54, with less than a minute left.
Brionna Jones closed the quarter with a driving layup to cut Connecticut's deficit to two points.
Connecticut had closed the first half strong after the Storm got to within 34-32 with 2:38 left.
Jones got busy coming out of the timeout to lead an 8-0 run. She started with a hook shot by the rim and a driving layup, followed by Williams going end-to-end for a layup.
Jones drove for another layup with 19.3 seconds remaining in the half to give the Sun a 42-32 lead.
Sun to celebrate Title IX
• Connecticut will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX during next Wednesday's home game against the New York Liberty (7 p.m.), in conjunction with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Representatives from the Basketball Hall of Fame will be in attendance along with Hall of Famers such as Van Chancellor, Jody Conradt, Theresa Grentz, Sylvia Hatchell, Cheryl Miller, Pearl Moore and Rebecca Lobo, the latter who will call the game on ESPN.
The Sun's 20-year season ticket members will have an opportunity for a meet and greet with the Hall of Famers before the game at an exclusive event in the Earth Suite at Mohegan Sun Arena.