Minnesota forces Game 3 of best-of-three series.
Uncasville, CT (September 17, 2023)- Today, the Connecticut Sun (27-13, 1-1) fell to the Minnesota Lynx (19-21, 1-1), 82-75, in Game 2 of the opening round of the WNBA playoffs. The Sun will face the Lynx in a winner-take-all Game 3 on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
The Sun was led by Alyssa Thomas who finished with 26 points, eight rebounds, six assists, one steal and two blocks on the day.
1Q- Connecticut led Minnesota, 14-13, heading into the first media timeout of the contest. DeWanna Bonner tallied eight points to lead the Sun through the first six minutes of the game. The Lynx finished the quarter on a 11-7 run to take a three-point lead into the second, 24-21. Alyssa Thomas tallied nine points, three rebounds, one assist and one block through ten minutes of action to lead Connecticut.
2Q- The Sun opened the second outscoring the Lynx, 11-9, to cut the lead to one, 33-32, with 5:11 remaining in the first half. Bonner had five of Connecticut’s 11 on that stretch. Minnesota closed the first half on a 11-7 run to take a 44-39 lead into the locker room over Connecticut. Bonner led the Sun with 18 points, two rebounds, one assists and one steal after twenty minutes of play. Thomas added 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks at the break.
3Q- Minnesota opened the second half outscoring Connecticut, 7-5, to push their lead up to seven, 51-44, with 8:08 remaining in the third. Thomas and Rebecca Allen each had buckets on that opening stretch out the locker room. The Lynx continued to build their lead over the Sun, going on a 10-4 run out of that early timeout to take a 61-48 advantage with 4:11 to play in the third quarter. After trailing by as many as 16 in the third, Connecticut finished the quarter on an 11-0 run to cut the lead back to five heading into the fourth, 65-60. Thomas tallied 10 points to lead the Sun in the third quarter.
4Q- The Lynx outscored the Sun, 8-7, to open the fourth, taking a 73-67 with 5:09 remaining in the contest. Connecticut was able to close the gap to three, 76-73, with 2:33 to go in the fourth, however the Lynx were able to finish the game on a 6-2 run to seal the 82-75 win over the Sun. Bonner tallied six points, while Thomas added five points in the closing ten minutes of the game.
Minnesota was led by Kayla McBride who tallied 28 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal in the game. Napheesa Collier added 26 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block for the Lynx.
Sun Notes:
- DeWanna Bonner notched 24 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal.
- Rebecca Allen finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, two assists and one block.
- With 24 points in the game, DeWanna Bonner moved into 6th all-time in scoring in Connecticut Sun postseason history (349), passing Lindsay Whalen.
- With six made threes in today’s game, DeWanna Bonner moved into 8th all-time in three-point field goals made in WNBA postseason history (83), passing Katie Smith, Deanna Nolan and Tamika Catchings.
- With six assists, Alyssa Thomas moved into 10th all-time in assists in WNBA postseason history (191).
- Minnesota scored 20 points off Connecticut’s 11 turnovers.
- The Sun shot 43.8% (28-64) on the day, while the Lynx went 47.8% (33-69) from the floor.
| Team | Score | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | PTS | REB | AST |
| CON | 75 | 21 | 18 | 21 | 15 | Thomas- 26 | Allen- 9 | Thomas- 6 |
| MIN | 82 | 24 | 20 | 21 | 17 | McBride- 28 | Collier- 13 | Juhasz- 6 |
NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun head to Minneapolis to face off against the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of the opening round of the WNBA playoffs on Wednesday, September 20.