Thomas records fifth triple-double of 2023 in dominating fashion
Uncasville, CT (August 1, 2023)- Tonight, the Connecticut Sun (19-7) defeated the Minnesota Lynx (13-14), 79-69. With the win, the Sun win the regular season series, 3-1.
The Sun was led by Alyssa Thomas who tallied her second-straight triple-double with 21 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and 12 assists. She also added three steals and two blocks in the win. With that stat line, Thomas is the first player in WNBA history to record 20+ points, 20+ rebounds and 10+ assists.
1Q- Connecticut trailed Minnesota, 9-6, heading into the first media timeout of the contest. Rebecca Allen led the Sun with four points in the opening five minutes. Connecticut finished the quarter on an 8-7 run to close the gap to two, 16-14, heading into the second. Tiffany Hayes finished the first with five points to lead the Sun in scoring. Connecticut’s 14 points in the first quarter matched a season-low in first quarter points.
2Q- The Sun opened the second on an 8-2 run to take a four-point advantage, 22-18, with 5:58 to go in the first half. DeWanna Bonner tallied six of Connecticut’s eight points in the opening minutes of the second. Connecticut continued their run, taking a 31-26 lead with 2:59 to go in the quarter and forcing Minnesota into a timeout. The Sun closed the half outscoring the Lynx, 6-4, in the final three minutes, taking a 37-30 lead into the locker room. Ty Harris shined in the second quarter, leading Connecticut in scoring with 11 points off the bench.
3Q- The Lynx opened the second half on a 7-4 run to cut the Sun’s lead to four, 41-37, with 8:10 remaining in the third and forcing the Sun into a timeout. Connecticut responded on a 11-6 run of their own to extend their advantage to nine, 52-43, with 4:51 to go in the quarter. Minnesota finished the quarter outscoring Connecticut by one, 9-8, with Connecticut taking an eight-point advantage into the fourth, 60-52. Thomas reached her seventh career triple-double in the third quarter, with 13 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists after three quarters of play.
4Q- Connecticut outscored Minnesota, 10-6, to open the fourth quarter, pushing their lead to 12, 70-58, with 5:40 to go in the game. Thomas had six of the Sun’s 10 in that stretch. The Sun were able to outscore the Lynx, 19-17, in the fourth quarter to secure the 79-69 win.
Minnesota was led by Lindsay Allen who tallied 16 points, one rebound, three assists and one steal.
Connecticut shot 50% (36-72) while holding Minnesota to 39% (23-59) from the floor in the game.
Sun Notes:
- Ty Harris finished with a season-high 17 points, one rebound, four assists and one steal off the bench in tonight’s win.
- Tiffany Hayes tallied 16 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal.
- Alyssa Thomas tallied her fifth triple-double of the 2023 season and seventh of her regular season career. She now has nine triple-doubles including postseason play in her career.
- Thomas has notched three triple double-double against Minnesota in her career.
- 7/22/22: 15 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists
- 7/30/23: 17 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists
- 8/1/23: 21 points, 20 rebounds, 12 assists
- Including her two 2022 postseason triple-doubles, Thomas has had back-to-back triple-doubles three times in her career. No other player has recorded back-to-back triple-doubles in WNBA history.
- 9/15/22 and 9/18/22
- 6/25/23 and 6/27/23
- 7/30/23 and 8/1/23
- Thomas has notched three triple double-double against Minnesota in her career.
- Alyssa Thomas’s 20 rebounds marks the first time a Sun player has grabbed 20+ rebounds in a single game since 2019 (Jonquel Jones- 5/31/19).
- She is also the third player in Sun history to tally a 20+ point and 20+ rebound game, joining Tina Charles (2) and Jonquel Jones (1).
- With two blocks in the win, DeWanna Bonner moved into 14th all-time in blocks in Sun history, passing Brooke Wyckoff (62).
- With two blocks in the win, Alyssa Thomas moved into 8th all-time in blocks in Sun history, tying Nykesha Sales and Cintia Dos Santos (81).
- The Sun forced the Lynx into 13 first-half turnovers, resulting in 16 of their 37 points.
- Connecticut had six free throw attempts to Minnesota’s 24 on the night.
- The Sun tied a season-high with 54 points in the paint. The Lynx scored just 30 points in the paint in the game.
PLAYER QUOTES:
Ty Harris on Alyssa Thomas’s triple-double:
“She sees everything on the floor…it’s amazing what she does… in the amount of minutes she plays and just how hard she plays, so I admire her game.”
Alyssa Thomas on her growth over the last two seasons and her triple-double:
“I think before my injury, I think I was playing really good basketball and unfortunately, I had the injury. … I worked really hard to get back where I wanted to be, but a lot of my credit goes to my teammates. You know, I say this every time that without them making shots, I really can’t get triple-doubles.”
Alyssa Thomas on playing Minnesota:
“I think I have [a lot] of triple-doubles against Minnesota, so I think I see the floor well against them. I think the biggest thing with them is that I have fives trying to guard me and pressure me outside the three-point line… Today I was really focused on getting to the hoop and finishing through contact.”
Alyssa Thomas on having Ty Harris on the team this season:
“We’ve been trying to get her for years and for it to finally happen, we were super excited about it. We’re tough on her and we know what’s she’s capable of… She stays ready and when it’s nights like this and her number is called, she’s always ready.”
| Team | Score | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | PTS | REB | AST |
| CON | 79 | 14 | 23 | 23 | 19 | Thomas- 21 | Thomas-20 | Thomas- 12 |
| MIN | 69 | 16 | 14 | 22 | 17 | Allen- 16 | Juhász-11 | Miller- 6 |
NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun begin their four-game road trip in Indianapolis on Friday, August 4, taking on the Indiana Fever at 7:00 PM ET.