DiJonai Carrington notches 1,000th career-point in the win.
Los Angeles, CA (September 8, 2024)- Tonight, the Connecticut Sun (25-10) defeated the Los Angeles Sparks (7-28), 79-67, in a come from behind victory at Crypto.com Arena. The Sun move to 3-0 against the Sparks during the 2024 season and will look for the season sweep on Tuesday night in their final meeting of the year.
Alyssa Thomas recorded her league-leading 11th career regular season triple-double in the win and third of the season with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, two steals and one block in the win. No one in league history has recorded more than four triple-double during regular season play (Sabrina Ionescu), as Thomas accounts for 30.5% (11/36) of all regular season triple doubles in league history. Tonight’s triple-double marks Thomas’ 14th triple-double in her career overall including postseason play (3).
Brionna Jones led the Sun in scoring in tonight’s win with 21 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the game. It marks her third 20+ performance in the Sun’s last four games and fourth of the season.
DiJonai Carrington eclipsed 1,000 career-points in the win with 19 points, one rebound, one assist and five steals. She now leads the league with most games this season with at least five steals, doing it on three occasions this year.
DeWanna Bonner recorded 14 points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block, while Marina Mabrey added 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and one steal in 26 minutes off the bench to round out the Sun’s double-digit scorers. The Sun move to 10-1 when at least five players finish with 10+ points, including 6-0 in road games.
The Sun shot 40.7% (22-54) from the field, while the Sparks went 46.4% (32-69) from the floor in the game. Connecticut dominated the paint, outscoring Los Angeles, 50-24, in the lane in the win. The Sun also held the advantage in second chance points (13-7) and fast break points (12-2).
Rookie guard Rickea Jackson led the Sparks in the effort with 23 points, four rebounds, one assist, three steals and one block on the night.
Game Runs:
1Q: The Sun held a 12-11 lead over the Sparks heading into the first media timeout of the game. Brionna Jones tallied six points and four rebounds to lead Connecticut through the first six minutes of the contest. Connecticut went on a 7-2 run out of that timeout to force Los Angeles to burn a timeout with 1:28 to play in the first, 19-13. Marina Mabrey had five of the Sun’s seven on that stretch. The Sparks responded on a 5-0 run to close the quarter, with the Sun taking a 19-18 lead into the second.
2Q: Los Angeles began the second on an 8-3 spurt to take a 26-22 lead over Connecticut with 8:10 to play in the first half. The Sparks finished the half outscoring the Sun, 19-17, to take a six-point lead into the locker room, 45-39. Jones led all scorers at the break with 12 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. Alyssa Thomas added 10 points, two rebounds and five assists. Nine of the Sparks 27 points came at the charity stripe in the second quarter.
3Q: The Sun opened the second half on an 8-4 run to cut the Sparks’ lead to two, 49-47, with 7:24 to play in the third. Jones had six of Connecticut’s eight points to open the half. Connecticut was able to tie the game, 49-49, with 4:02 to play in the quarter but Los Angeles finished the quarter on a 9-6 spurt to take a three-point lead into the fourth, 58-55.
4Q: A 14-8 start to the fourth quarter put the Sun up three, 69-66, with 5:58 to play in the game. Mabrey and DeWanna Bonner each had five points to open the quarter for Connecticut. The score remained the same until Los Angeles’ Rickea Jackson notched a free-throw at the 3:36 mark in the quarter to cut the Sun’s lead to two, 69-67. The Sun rattled off 10 unanswered to finish the game and take the 79-67 win. Connecticut outscored Los Angeles, 24-9, in the final ten minutes.
Notes:
- DiJonai Carrington notched her fourth game this season with 4+ steals, joining Nneka Ogwumike, Arike Ogunbowale, Napheesa Collier and Caitlin Clark as the only players to achieve the feat this season to date.
- With the win, the Sun avoided a third straight loss. Connecticut has only lost three games in a row three times over the last four seasons.
- The Sparks turned the ball over 20 times which results in 21 points for the Sun.
- Connecticut has won the last 12 regular season meetings with Los Angeles dating back to the 2020 season.
- The Sun outrebounded the Sparks, 33-28, and out-assisted the Sparks, 22-15.
| Team | Score | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | PTS | REB | AST |
| CON | 79 | 19 | 20 | 16 | 24 | Jones- 21 | Thomas- 10 | Thomas- 11 |
| LAS | 67 | 18 | 27 | 13 | 9 | Jackson- 23 | Yueru- 8 | Stevens- 5 |
NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun face off against the Los Angeles Sparks for the final time during the 2024 regular season on Tuesday, September 10 at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT at Crypto.com Arena.