Uncasville, CT -Today, the Connecticut Sun defeated the Atlanta Dream 80-67, with the win, Connecticut requited their home loss to Atlanta on June 28 and moved to 2-1 against the Dream this season.
DeWanna Bonner led Connecticut with 23 points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. She went 7/9 from beyond the three-point line, recording a new career-high for three-point field goals made. With seven three-point field goals on the day, she also eclipsed 600 made threes in her 15-year WNBA career (601), which is good for ninth all-time in league history.
Tiffany Mitchell notched a season-high 13 points, along with three rebounds, one assist, and one block in 21 minutes off the bench. Brionna Jones rounded out the Sun’s double-figure scorers with 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Alyssa Thomas filled the stat sheet, adding seven points, seven rebounds, nine assists, and one steal in 25 minutes of action. She also finished a +20 on the day.
Before the game, Coach White emphasized the importance of consistency, stating, “We bounced back really well, and we have to continue our journey of consistency.” This mindset was evident in the Sun’s performance.
The Sun trailed the Dream, 11-8, heading into the first media timeout of the contest but finished the quarter on a 12-5 run to take a 20-16 lead into the second. Bonner led the Sun with eight points in the first quarter, going 2/2 from deep. Both teams struggled offensively to open the second, with the first field goal from either squad coming at the 6:22 mark on a Brionna Jones lay-in for the Sun. Connecticut outscored Atlanta, 14-8, in the second quarter to take a ten-point lead into the locker room, 34-24.
The Sun found their rhythm offensively in the third, outscoring the Dream, 33-25, in the ten minutes coming out of the locker room. Connecticut’s 33 points third-quarter points marked a season-high for points scored in a single quarter. Bonner nailed three of her career-high seven triples in the third. Atlanta was able to outscore Connecticut, 18-13, in the fourth quarter, but the Sun held on to win. Allisha Gray finished with 19 points, three rebounds, two assists, and one steal to lead the Dream in the effort. Forwards Tina Charles and Nia Coffey added 13 and 11 points.
The Sun hit a season-high 10 three-point field goals going 10/23 (43.5%) compared to the Dream’s 4/10 (40%) in the win. In post-game Coach Stephanie White stated, “it’s important for us to continue to build our depth and impact the ball game’ The Sun will see New York Liberty July 10th at 11am.
