CT Sun Wrap: Shooting Woes Plague Sun In Loss To Fever; Winning Streak Ends

All good things must come to an end, even for the Connecticut Sun.

The Indiana Fever beat Connecticut 73-67 on Saturday at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in the teams’ second meeting in three games. In contrast to Thursday’s dominant win, the Sun struggled from the field and ultimately committed too many turnovers and shot too poorly to notch a fifth consecutive win and extend their lead atop the Eastern Conference standings.

Jonquel Jones led the Sun with 16 points and nine rebounds but she shot just 5-for-17 from the field. Front-court mates Brionna Jones and DeWanna Bonner added 13 and 14 points, respectively, while Natisha Heideman scored 12 off the bench on 4-for-12 shooting. Other Sun players contributed little scoring output and the team shot just 35.8 percent, including 4-for-17 from 3-point range.

On the other hand, Six Indiana players scored at least seven points, including point guard Danielle Robinson, who had a game-high 19 points.

The loss dropped the Sun’s record to 12-6 and improved Indiana’s to 2-16.

Here’s how it all went down:

STARTING FIVE
F: DeWanna Bonner
F: Jonquel Jones
C: Brionna Jones
G: Briann January
G: Jasmine Thomas

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SLIGHT EDGE
The Sun’s three All-Stars, Jonquel Jones, Brionna Jones and Bonner led the charge out of the gate, with the Joneses accounting for 11 of the 16 points Connecticut scored in the frame. Bonner also chipped in with two rebounds and two assists.

However, the Fever benefited from the turnovers and fouls the Sun committed and kept the game close.

The Sun led 16-14 after the first quarter.

EVEN CLOSER
The game remained ever-so-tight in the second quarter.

Bonner scored five points in the second quarter and added another rebound and assist to her tally.

Brionna and Jonquel Jones both led all scorers with nine points at the break.

Teaira McCowan led the Fever with six points and seven rebounds off the bench.

The four-point lead the Sun had with a half second remaining in the second was the largest for either team, but the Fever cut it to one when Danielle Robinson hit each of the three free throws she was awarded on a shooting foul on the brink of halftime.

Connecticut shot 38.7 percent on field goals, including 1-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line. Indiana also struggled from the field, shooting just 30 percent 1-for-9 on 3-point shots.

The Sun led 29-28 after two quarters.

POST-BREAK LETDOWN
The Fever took the lead early in the quarter and went on to amass a 18-10 run over the first seven-plus minutes of the period.

However, Connecticut was able to chip away at Indiana’s lead.

The Fever outscored the Sun 24-17 in the third and led 52-46 heading into the fourth quarter.

DEFENSE GIVES WAY
After making life hard for Indiana for most of the first three quarters, Connecticut was unable to make the timely stops they needed. The Fever enjoyed a 10-4 run at one point in the quarter, which put too much distance for the Sun to overcome.

However, they kept the game close thanks to Natisha Hiedeman’s hand, which got hot just a little too late.

The Fever and Sun both scored 21 points in the fourth quarter. Indiana took the game 73-67.

PLAY OF THE GAME
Watch Jones finish off this nifty pick and roll.

UP NEXT
The Sun have a little break before they host the Atlanta Dream on Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.