After earning their 12th win of the season Friday, the Connecticut Sun now own the best record in the WNBA.
Connecticut dominated throughout in their 98-69 victory over the Atlanta Dream at Mohegan Sun Arena, and now are 9-0 in games in which they lead at halftime this season. The Sun now are 8-1 at home this season as well, the best home record in the WNBA.
Jonquel Jones (12 points, nine rebounds) and Alyssa Thomas (11 points, eight rebounds) fell just short of earning double-doubles. Bria Holmes had her best game of the season, leading the team with 19 points Friday night.
The Sun improves to 12-6 with the win, while the Dream falls to 5-13 with the loss.
Here’s how it all went down:
STARTING FIVE
PG: Courtney Williams
SG: Jasmine Thomas
SF: Shekinna Stricklen
PF: Alyssa Thomas
C: Jonquel Jones
SUN NAB EARLY LEAD
It didn’t take long for the Sun to take a healthy lead on the Dream.
Connecticut was first on the board and grabbed an early lead thanks to some early buckets from Jonquel Jones and Williams.
Jasmine Thomas led the team with seven points in the first, including this beauty of a bucket.
Atlanta tried to tighten things up toward the end of the quarter, but Stricklen dashed their hopes of tying the game with a shot from beyond the arc at the buzzer.
Alyssa Thomas helped extend the Sun’s lead with a key layup and with 90 seconds left, drawing a foul on the play as well.
The Sun would end the quarter up 29-25 on the Dream.
CONNECTICUT GAINS MOMENTUM
The Sun outscored the Dream 9-2 to start the second, turning their four-point lead to an 11-point lead.
Holmes had herself a day Friday, notching seven points in the first half.
Atlanta eventually would claw their way back to make it a six-point game. But Jonquel Jones made sure that’s as close as the Dream would get, scoring Connecticut’s next six points to bring the lead back up to 12.
The Dream got three points back before the end of the half, despite a hearty defensive effort from the Sun in the final minute of the half. The two squads entered halftime with Connecticut up 49-40 over Atlanta.
SUN BREAK IT OPEN
Connecticut started the second half with a bang.
Stricklen scored five of the Sun’s first seven points in the third, including a killer 3-pointer to start the second half.
Jasmine Thomas helped Connecticut take it’s largest lead of the game less than four minutes into the quarter on a beautifully-timed layup.
The Dream struggled to sink key buckets throughout the third, missing a number of opportunities to close the gap. Atlanta eventually cut Connecticut’s lead to 12 but simply couldn’t maintain any sort of momentum.
The Sun took a 17-point lead into the final ten minutes.
GOODNIGHT
Connecticut started the fourth up 68-51, but it didn’t let up on that gas pedal.
Brionna Jones had an incredible performance off the bench, scoring six of the Sun’s first nine points of the quarter.
Connecticut continued the onslaught, with most of the team’s starters remaining on the bench for most (if not all) of the fourth. Brionna Jones’ fourth bucket of the quarter extended the Sun’s lead to a whopping 27 points.
The Sun maintained momentum throughout the quarter, eventually taking a 35-point lead. The Dream just couldn’t find their footing throughout the 40-minute contest, ultimately falling to Connecticut by a score of 98-69.
PLAY OF THE GAME
This team has absolutely no quit in them, no matter the score.
UP NEXT
The Sun will take on the New York Liberty on Wednesday at Mohegan Sun Arena, with tip-off slated for 11:30 a.m. ET.
