The Connecticut Sun used an impressive fourth-quarter run to pull out a 74-67 victory over the Las Vegas Aces at Mohegan Sun Arena on Tuesday night.
Jonquel Jones led a balanced Connecticut attack as she finished with a team-high 23 points on 6-for-10 from the field. Three other Connecticut players — Brionna Jones (14), Briann January (11) and Jasmine Thomas (11) — all scored double figures.
Liz Cambridge scored a game-high 28 points for the Aces.
The Sun improved to 7-2 on the season, and 4-0 at home, while the Aces fell to 5-3.
Here’s how it went down:
STARTING FIVE:
G: Jasmine Thomas
G: Briann January
F: DeWanna Bonner
F: Jonquel Jones
C: Brionna Jones
GOOD START
Jonquel Jones scored six of her eight first-quarter points in the early going, and ultimately the Sun were able to open up a seven-point lead before taking a 19-14 advantage after the first quarter.
Connecticut benefitted from its patience on offense, consistently finding the right shot on the Sun recorded assists on four of their eight first-half baskets (8-for-16 from the field). Five players found the scoring column for the Sun with January contributing five points of her own.
The Sun, however, were troubled a bit by their six early turnovers compared to just three of the Aces.
Las Vegas shot 35 percent from the floor (6-for-17), perhaps the best indication of Connecticut’s strong defensive start.
STILL LEADING
Connecticut had its lead trimmed a bit, and Las Vegas even took a lead of its own, but the Sun responded with an 8-0 run midway through the quarter and it helped them take a 33-30 edge at the half.
That 8-0 run gave the Sun a 29-21 lead with three minutes left in the half. Connecticut, though, allowed the Aces to put together a run themselves as the Sun went just 4-for-13 from the floor in the second quarter.
Jonquel Jones continued to lead the Sun on the score sheet with 12 points on 4-for-7 from the field. January added four points in the second quarter, too. Bonner wasn’t a major first-half contributor scoring, as she had just two points on two shots, but did contribute a tempest four rebounds and team-best three assists.
The Sun shot 41 percent (12-for-29) from the field in the half while the Aces shot 38 percent (13-for-34).
BACK AND FORTH
Connecticut extended its lead back to seven on a few occasions, but Las Vegas continued to make their own plays to keep the game close and it ultimately led the Sun to hold a modest 52-48 lead heading into the fourth.
Jasmine Thomas gave the Sun a 39-32 lead at 2:20 of the quarter with a pair of free throws. Natasha Hiedeman later came up with a timely 3-pointer to extend the Sun lead to 50-44 with 8:29 in the quarter.
The Sun went 7-for-20 in the quarter as their shooting percentage fell to 39 percent. Jonquel Jones extended her total to 16 points on 5-for-9 from the field while January contributed 11 points through three.
ENDING ON A RUN
The Sun had an answer to every run the Aces made, and it helped Connecticut pull out the win.
The Aces took a 56-55 lead just over two minutes into the period, but the Sun responded with an 11-3 scoring stretch to regain momentum and take a 66-59 lead four minutes later. Jonquel Jones scored seven points during the stretch while hitting one 3-pointer and finishing on four free throws.
The Sun then took its largest lead of the night, 70-61, with three minutes left in the contest before Bonner essentially put the game on ice with a 28-foot 3-pointer.
UP NEXT
The Sun will return to their home floor Saturday to host the New York Liberty at 7 p.m. ET.
