Thomas drops season-high 26 points in effort.

Arlington, TX (August 12, 2023)- Tonight, the Connecticut Sun fell to the Dallas Wings, 91-81. The Sun lead the 2023 regular season series, 2-1, with their final regular season matchup coming in Uncasville, CT this Friday.

The Sun was led by Alyssa Thomas who tallied her 21^st double-double of the season, dropping a season-high 26 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals.

1Q- Connecticut and Dallas were knotted at 13-13 heading into the first media timeout of the contest. Thomas and Tiffany Hayes each had four points in the opening five minutes to lead the way. The Wings finished the first outscoring the Sun, 12-10, to take a two-point lead into the second, 25-23. Thomas, Hayes and Natisha Hiedeman each tallied six points in the opening quarter.

2Q- The Wings opened the second quarter on a 12-7 run to extend their lead to eight over the Sun, 38-30, with 5:22 remaining in the first half. Dallas led by as many as 12 in the second quarter, but Connecticut was able to cut it to single digits heading into the locker room down nine, 52-43. Thomas led the Sun with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists on the break.

The Sun shot 48.7% (19-39) in the first half, while the Wings were 52.8% (19-36) from the floor. Connecticut gave up six offensive boards, resulting in 12 second-chance points for Dallas through two quarters of action.

3Q- Dallas outscored Connecticut, 11-9, opening the second half, extending their lead to 11, 63-52, with 4:42 to play in the third. Thomas had six of the Sun’s nine points on that stretch. The Sun went on a 12-3 run, including 10 unanswered, to cut the Wings’ lead to three, 67-64 with 1:57 to go in the third. However, the Wings closed the quarter on a 6-0 run of their own to push it back up to nine, 73-64, heading into the fourth. Hayes and Thomas each had eight points in the third to lead Connecticut.

4Q- Connecticut opened the fourth on a 6-2 run to close the gap to five, 75-70, forcing Dallas into a quick timeout with 7:37 to go in the contest. Hayes and DiJonai Carrington each knocked down a three-pointer on that stretch. The Sun continued to push, cutting the Wings’ lead to two, 77-75, with 5:06 left in the fourth. Connecticut trailed Dallas, 81-79, with 3:51 to go in the game, but Dallas closed the game on a 10-2 run, to take the 91-81 win.

Dallas was led by Satou Sabally who finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocks.

Connecticut shot 45.8% (33-72) while Dallas shot 46.9% (30-64) from the floor in the game.

Sun Notes:

• Tiffany Hayes notched 19 points, four rebounds and four assists on the night.
• Natisha Hiedeman finished with 15 points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals.
• DiJonai Carrington tallied 11 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal in 19 minutes off the bench.
• DeWanna Bonner was held to just three points, 15 points under her season average coming into the contest (18.3).
• After allowing 12 second-chance points in the first half, the Sun held the Wings to just two second-chance points in the second.
• Connecticut outscored Dallas,46-44 in the paint and 14-10 on the fast break on the night.
• With four rebounds on the night, DeWanna Bonner moved into 12^th all-time in rebounding in Sun franchise history, passing Kelsey Griffin. She now has 686 rebounds in her Sun career.

NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun will look to avenge their loss back at home hosting the Dallas Wings on Friday, August 18 at 7:00 PM ET at Mohegan Sun Arena.