UNCASVILLE — The Connecticut Sun looked the equals of the third-place Atlanta Dream for three and a half quarters, but couldn’t carry the momentum through the final buzzer in a 93-76 loss on Monday at Mohegan Sun Arena.
On the day the Sun were giving away bobbleheads of veteran Tina Charles, the UConn legend delivered 22 points and eight rebounds while shooting 50% from the field. Rookie Leila Lacan had another standout performance with 17 points, four assists, two steals and a block, and Marina Mabrey added 12 points plus three assists.
It wasn’t enough to overcome a balanced effort from Atlanta’s trio of All-Stars. Rhyne Howard led the Dream with 23 points, three assists and two steals, while MVP candidate Allisha Gray added 17 points plus five rebounds. Former Connecticut star Brionna Jones posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Atlanta finished with five players scoring in double-digits, also getting 17 points from forward Naz Hillmon and 15 from guard Jordin Canada off the bench in her first appearance since a hamstring injury on Aug. 10.
The Sun led for nearly the entire first quarter getting out to a hot offensive start from the field. The team shot 56.2% from the field, but Atlanta took a late lead after it began to heat up from 3-point range. Howard hit her first of the game after an 0-for-3 start to give the Dream their first lead of the game in the final two minutes, and Connecticut went 0-for-7 from beyond the arc in the opening quarter.
Atlanta continued to roll into the second quarter, hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the first minute, opening up a seven-point lead. But after forcing just a single turnover in the first, the Sun turned up the defensive heat to generate their transition offense. Aneesah Morrow shifted the momentum back in Connecticut’s favor with a steal that she converted for an and-1 hook shot at the other end, and she also made a critical block against Te-Hina Paopao a minute later to prevent the Dream from regaining a two-score lead.
The Sun scored four points off a pair of steals and forced four total turnovers in the second quarter, also holding Atlanta without a field goal for nearly five minutes heading to finish the half. Connecticut ended the second on a 10-2 run to open its largest lead of the game, entering halftime ahead 48-42.
The Dream responded early in the second half, and the third quarter became a nonstop back-and-forth with four ties and five lead changes. Connecticut continued its cold streak from beyond the arc going the entire quarter without a make on five attempts, but they maintained impressive efficiency from the field shooting 54% and limited Atlanta to just two 3-pointers. Rookie Saniya Rivers grabbed her second steal of the game and took it coast-to-coast for a buzzer-beater layup to end the quarter, sending the Sun into the fourth trailing 68-67.
But the Sun struggled to adjust to a tight whistle from the officials all game, and foul trouble ultimately cost them badly down the stretch. Connecticut gave up 23 points on free throws while getting to the line just 14 times for 12 points in comparison. Frustration and fatigue started to show as Atlanta widened its lead to 11 points with under three minutes to play after a 9-0 run, and the Sun didn’t hit another field goal until there was less than a minute remaining on the clock.
