The Sun are on a roll after their West Coast road trip, and they showed why they are a championship contender.
Connecticut bounced back against the Las Vegas Aces Thursday to kick off their three-game win streak. They then followed up with a win against the Phoenix Mercury on the second night of a back to back and a win against a full strength Seattle Storm squad.
After a strong week, The Athletic’s Chantel Jennings placed the Sun at No. 1 in her latest power rankings. Connecticut climbed up two spots from their previous placement.
“The Aces and Sun split two games in Las Vegas last week with Las Vegas winning the first game by eight points and Connecticut taking the second game by seven,” Jennings wrote Tuesday. “I think I speak for many when I say I wouldn’t be disappointed if these are the two teams that end up in the WNBA Finals. Frankly, they’re very much on a 1a and 1b level, but the Sun get the edge as the No. 1 team this week because of the fortitude they showed on their road trip. Connecticut went 3-1 in the last week with wins over Las Vegas, Phoenix and Seattle — without so much as a practice or shootaround for two of those games.”
Natisha Hiedeman has taken over the starting point guard role for Jasmine Thomas, but the Sun have gone to a different lineup to adjust to the loss of Thomas.
“Lately, coach Curt Miller has rolled out the Sun’s ‘jumbo lineup’ of Alyssa Thomas, Courtney Williams, DeWanna Bonner, Jonquel Jones and Brionna Jones, and that is going to present some issues for opponents,” Jennings said. “At point guard, Alyssa Thomas finished with 12 assists, 11 rebounds and eight points against the Storm, becoming the first WNBA player in history to record such a stat line, per Across The Timeline… The Sun, even with the loss of Jasmine Thomas, are finding themselves and finding ways to win.”
The Sun will transition to a four-game homestand at Mohegan Sun Arena starting Wednesday against the Indiana Fever.
