Connecticut Sun (13-9) At Washington Mystics (13-9)
Verizon Center
Friday, July 28th, 7:00 p.m. ET
Watch Live on CSN
Last Game: The Connecticut Sun won 93-72 at home over the Chicago Sky on July 25th. The Washington Mystics won 85-76 over the San Antonio Stars at AT&T Center on July 25th.
Players to Watch: Connecticut – Jonquel Jones leads Connecticut this season in both scoring (15.6 ppg) and rebounding (11.2 rpg). She posted 12 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in Tuesday’s win over Chicago. Jasmine Thomas leads the Sun in assists (5.0 apg) and is second in scoring (14.7 ppg). She had 17 points, eight assists, three steals and a block against the Sky. Alyssa Thomas ranks second on the team in both rebounds (6.4 rpg) and assists (4.8 apg), and is third in scoring (13.9 ppg). She added a team-high 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the game.
Washington – Elena Delle Donne leads Washington this season in scoring (19.3 ppg). She posted a team-high 29 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in Tuesday’s win over San Antonio. Krystal Thomas leads the Mystics in rebounding (8.2 rpg). She had eight points, 13 rebounds and a block against the Stars. Kristi Toliver leads the team in assists, and added eight points, 10 assists and three rebounds in the game.
Noteworthy:
- The Connecticut Sun are 1-1 against Washington this season.
- Washington won 78-76 over the Sun at Verizon Center on May 31st. Connecticut evened the series with a 96-92 win over the Mystics at home on July 8th.
- Jones (18.0 ppg, 11.0 ppg) and Shekinna Stricklen (16.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg) led the Sun in the two games against Washington.
- Delle Donne (20.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 3.0 bpg) and Taylor Hill (13.5 ppg, 5.5 apg) led the Mystics in the two games against Connecticut.
- The Sun set new season-highs in assists (27) and steals (14) against the Sky.
- Jones leads the WNBA in rebounding (11.2 rpg). She posted her 12th double-double of the season against Chicago.
- Jasmine Thomas ranks fifth in the league in three-point percentage (.440) and is sixth in assists (5.0 apg).
- Alyssa Thomas scored 20 points for the second time this season against Chicago, and has now finished in double-figure scoring 16 times this season.
- Courtney Williams dished out a career-high six assists against Chicago.
- Delle Donne is seventh in the WNBA in scoring (19.3 ppg). Her 29 points against San Antonio was a season-high. Delle Donne also had season-highs of 12 made field goals (7/8) and five blocks (5/31) against the Sun this season.
- Krystal Thomas ranks sixth in the league in rebounding (8.2 rpg).
- Delle Donne currently leads the league in free throw percentage (.964, 108-112).
Connecticut Sun Head Coach Curt Miller
On Alyssa Thomas’ performance against Chicago:
“Well, she’s a bulldozer. I call her a bowling ball at times. She just bounces off of people and it’s like pins falling at times and she spins off of people. She gets her fair share of charges in this league but we’re better when she’s in attack mode. We took a lot of off-balance shots tonight. We took some poor shots and I thought we settled in the first actions that we felt like we had to score in our first action and when we would get to a second or third action, we got them more spread out. I thought we did a better job in second and third actions and some of those ended up in AT’s hands and now there’s a wider lane, your defense has been moved a little bit and now the congestion isn’t there and she had more room to use her athleticism.”
Next Game: The Connecticut Sun return home to host the Indiana Fever at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday, July 30th at 3:00 p.m. ET. Get tickets.