The Sky’s not their limit
How the Sun took care of business in an elimination game against Chicago; bigger test awaits with LA Sparks next
DeWanna Bonner told Connecticut Sunfansaftera0-5start to stay withthe team. Thewinswouldcome, shesaid, if not this year, then next.
Fans didn’t have to wait until 2021 to see things turn around as the Sun secured the No. 7 seed going into the playoffs andthen decidedly took down theNo. 6ChicagoSkyonTuesdaynight, 94-81, in a first-round single-elimination game.
Nowthe Sun are one win away from advancing to a best-of-five semifinal series for the second season in a row. Standing in their way: No. 3 Los Angeles, which the Sun will play Thursday at 9 p.m. in another win-or-go-home contest.
“This is what we’re built for right now,” head coach Curt Miller said. “It wasn’talwaysasmoothroadtogethere, but this is the experience that you need at playofftimeandwe’regoingtobeone heck of a hard out.”
Here’s how the Sun pulled off Tuesday’s big win:
Alyssa Thomas, remember her?: Thomas is known as one of the most relentless players in the league. As last year’s finals run showed, she somehow raises that intensity up a notch during the playoffs, which was on full display Tuesday.
Thomas flirted with a triple-double, scoring a game-high 26 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out eight assists. Seventeen of those points were in the first half, when the Sun didn’t have as many players contributing offensively, and 10 of those rebounds were on the offensive end, helping the Sun finish with almost as many offensive rebounds(17) astheSkyhadintotal (21). TheSunalsoowned23-7advantage in second-chance opportunities.
As Miller explained after the game, Thomas’ performance was a product of their gameplanwithChicago starter Ruthy Hebard guarding Thomas.
“Weweregoingtoseeifarookiecould handle Alyssa, so we were going to put the ball in her hands nonstop throughout the game,” he said. That strategy largely worked, andevenamoreathletic defender in Gabby Williams couldn’t fully shut downThomas.
Turning point: The first half of Tuesday’sgamewassomewhatsimilartothe Sun’s early games this season. Bonner and Thomas were doing too much of the heavy lifting offensively, scoring 29 points withtheteamsknottedup41-41 going into the break.
That changed immediately after halftime. Jasmine Thomas, who has been limited in recent weeks due to plantar fasciitis, kicked off the second half with a3-pointer, herfirstpointsofthegame.
Play of the game Alyssa Thomas, again: Withjustundernineminutesleft andtheSunup16, Kaila Charlesmissed a layup, and Alyssa Thomas flew in to crash the glass, her tip-in attempt too strong. Cheyenne Parker fumbled the ball, allowing Thomastosnatchitaway and get upasecond attempt.
Thatshottoodidn’tfall, but Beatrice Mompremier tipped the ball back toward Thomas, who was able to wrestle it away from the grasp of Williams, get up and dribble it out to the perimeter before hitting a back-cutting Natisha Hiedeman for a layup attempt. Hiedeman was fouled and went 1-for-2 from the line to extend the Sun’s lead to 17.