The Sun officially are headed to the WNBA playoffs.
Connecticut began the game strong before having a mediocre second quarter. But that didn’t matter as the Sun powered through the second half and halted the Dallas Wings’ four-game winning streak with a 78-68 win Sunday afternoon. They now improve to 13-1 at Mohegan Sun Arena this season.
Courtney Williams led the way for the Sun with 18 points, while Jonquel Jones (16) and Jasmine Thomas (16) also reached double-figures for Connecticut. Jones also secured her 14th double-double of the season with 10 rebounds.
Dallas got 22 points from Allisha Gray and 20 from rookie star Arike Ogunbowale, but it wasn’t enough as the Sun punched their ticket to the playoffs.
With the win, the Sun climbed to 19-8, while the Wings slipped to 9-18.
Here’s how it all went down:
STARTING FIVE
PG: Jasmine Thomas
SG: Courtney Williams
SF: Shekinna Stricklen
PF: Alyssa Thomas
C: Jonquel Jones
SUN HOLD WINGS TO JUST 13 POINTS
Connecticut went on two separate 5-0 runs in the first to jump out to a 10-4 lead. The first run began with a Jones 3-pointer.
Williams continued the impressive stretch by adding a sweet bucket of her own.
Dallas was down 16-8 in the final three minutes, but a 3-pointer for Shekinna Stricklen put Connecticut up by 11 before a perfectly executed play built the lead to 21-8.
The Wings chipped away at the Sun’s lead, but Connecticut was too much as it took a 25-13 lead at the end of the first.
Jones led all scorers with nine points, while Wings’ Kayla Thornton was just behind her with seven.
WINGS MAKE IT INTERESTING
Dallas opened the second with a 4-0 run to come within eight and held the Sun scoreless for the first five minutes of the quarter before Jones upped Connecticut’s lead back to 10 with an easy bucket.
The Wings brought their deficit to within two in the final two minutes, and took their first lead with 1:46 left on a 3-point shot from Ogunbowale.
Jasmine Thomas responded with trey of her own to make it 31-30.
The two teams swapped leads before tying the game in the final seconds, but Connecticut took a slim 37-34 lead into the half.
Jasmine Thomas led all shooters with 13 points.
SUN OPEN IT BACK UP
The Sun didn’t let the same thing happen in the third and came out scoring, including a wide-open 3-pointer from Stricklen.
It took another three minutes for Connecticut to score, but Jones made it count with a shot from beyond the arc to give her team a 47-40 edge.
The Sun continued to pile on the points and went up by 10 in the final two minutes of the quarter, taking a 57-49 lead into the fourth quarter.
Jasmine Thomas led the way with 16 points, while Gray dropped 15 through three for Dallas.
WINGS GET CLIPPED
Connecticut held a steady lead and each time Dallas seemed it was getting back into the game, the Sun responded, leading by eight in the last four minutes of the game.
They extended their lead to 11 after Williams pushed her point total to 16.
Dallas made a last-ditch effort, but the Sun proved to be too much as they sealed the 78-68 victory and won their seventh straight at Mohegan Sun Arena.
PLAY OF THE GAME
A powerful pre-game moment.
UP NEXT
The Sun are back in action Friday night when they play host to the Las Vegas Aces. Tip off from Mohegan Sun Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
