The Seattle Storm have cracked the code that is the Connecticut Sun, but it took overtime to do so.
Seattle handed Connecticut its first loss of the season, 90-87, on Tuesday night in what arguably was its most entertaining game this season.
Sue Bird came in clutch in OT, and continued to cement her legacy in the WNBA. She finished with a team-high 21 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Jonquel Jones paced all scorers with 28 points, while Brionna Jones (17), DeWanna Bonner (17) and Natisha Hiedeman (14) all had double-digit points for the Sun.
With the loss, the Sun fell to 5-1, while the Storm moved to 4-1.
Here’s how it all went down:
STARTING FIVE
G: Natisha Hiedeman
G: Jasmine Thomas
F: DeWanna Bonner
F: Jonquel Jones
F: Brionna Jones
FUN FIRST QUARTER
It was a pretty evenly matched, fun opening quarter between the Sun and Storm that featured some nice defense from Jonquel Jones to keep this a one-possession game.
But Merecedes Russell, Stephanie Talbot and Breanna Stewart helped put Seattle ahead 19-11 with 3:31 to left in the first.
Stewart’s 3-point shot from the corner forced Connecticut to call a timeout to regroup.
It seemed to have worked as the Sun went on a quick 7-0 run — which, of course, included a triple from Bonner — to make it a one-point game.
But as close as the Sun came, the Storm continued to hold onto the lead, and were ahead 27-23 at the end of the one.
Stewart had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting for Seattle. Jonquel Jones and Brionna Jones paced Connecticut with eight points apiece.
SUN DOWN AFTER TWO
Eight points in the first four minutes helped keep Seattle in the lead in the second quarter.
But the Sun, as they have all season, never went away and fought back. They took a 40-35 lead with 3:52 to go in the first half after an 11-0 run.
It was the Storm’s turn to go on an 11-0 run of their own, though, and it helped them take 46-40 lead at the half.
Brionna Jones and Hiedeman paced the Sun with 12 points apiece. Heideman was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.
SUN STILL FIGHTING
The Sun came within two, but Seattle stormed away with an eight-point lead with a little help from Bird.
The Storm upped their lead to 10 despite Stewart cooling off. The Sun struggled to make a basket, but stayed in the game and only were down four by the end of the quarter thanks to a 9-2 run.
Brionna Jones continued to dominate the floor with 16 points. Hiedeman was behind her with 14.
OVERTIME NEEDED
Connecticut continued its run into the fourth and took a 64-63 lead in the first minute, but the Storm stuck around and reclaimed the advantage before the game was tied 66-66 thanks to some intense back-and-forth action.
Jewell Lloyd hit one from deep to give the Storm a slim four-point cushion before Bird added a triple of her own that finished off a beautiful sequence.
The Connecticut defense stood tall to help keep the game within reach, but an offensive foul on the Sun didn’t do them any favors in the final two minutes.
But Bonner came through with the three-point opportunity and made it a one-possession game at 76-73 with just over a minute to play.
There was no shortage of entertainment in the fourth as the teams were tied 77-77 with 37.9 seconds remaining thanks to a Jonquel Jones three. Bird hit both of her free throws for the two-point lead, but the Sun once again tied things up with just 15.3 seconds left.
The Storm couldn’t get another shot off, and this one was headed to overtime to decide the winner.
STORM WIN IT
The Storm went on a 8-0 run in the first 1:03 of overtime with help from back-to-back 3-pointers from Bird.
But Connecticut continued to put points on the board and found itself within three points with 2:40 to go. The teams traded shots from downtown to keep things interesting, but the Sun missed what would have been the game-tying 3-pointer, and threw the ball away with 3.9 seconds left that gave the Storm possession and the win.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Bird was on another level Tuesday night.
UP NEXT
The Sun return home to take on the Washington Mystics on Friday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.
