Sun overcome six-point deficit in the fourth to seal their 12th home win
Uncasville, CT (August 23, 2024)- Tonight, the Connecticut Sun (21-7) defeated the Chicago Sky (11-17), 82-80, in Uncasville. The Sun move to 3-0 against the Sky during the 2024 regular season with their final contest coming on September 19 in Connecticut.
Marina Mabrey led the Sun in scoring with 24 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal against her former squad. Her 24 points mark her highest point total in a Sun uniform this season and her seventh 20+ performance in 2024.
DeWanna Bonner notched 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block, while Alyssa Thomas finished one rebound-shy of a triple-double with 12 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists, four steals and one block. She also hit the two game-winning free-throws with 4.1 seconds remaining to seal the 82-80 victory.
The Sun found a way while shooting under 40% from the field for the second straight game, going just 36.8% (25-68) from the floor in the win. The Sky shot 44.6% (29-65) from the floor but went just 33.3% (3/9) from beyond the arc.
Connecticut had the advantage on the fast break (18-17) and bench points (30-11), but Chicago outscored Connecticut in the paint (42-34) and on second chance opportunities (11-7). The Sky also outrebounded the Sun, 42-30.
Chennedy Carter paced the Sky in scoring with 19 points, while rookie center Kamilla Cardoso notched a career-high 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal. Rookie forward Angel Reese grabbed 20 of the Sky’s rebounds marking the most a player has tallied against the Sun this season.
Game Runs:
1Q: The Sky took an 8-6 lead over the Sun into the first media timeout of the contest. Brionna Jones had four early points to lead Connecticut. An 11-9 run to finish the first quarter by the Sun tied the game, 17-17, heading into the second. Connecticut struggled from the floor through the first ten minutes, shooting just 23.5% (4-17).
2Q: Connecticut took their first lead of the night on a three-point basket from Marina Mabrey to begin in the second quarter, 20-17. After holding a 31-30 advantage with 5:25 to go in the half, the Sun went on a 9-0 run to push their lead up to ten, 40-30, with 3:27 left in the second. Both teams notched five points to finish the closing minutes of the first half, with the Sun taking a ten-point lead into the locker room, 45-45. Mabrey tallied 15 points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal to lead Connecticut through the first twenty minutes. Alyssa Thomas added six points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the first half.
3Q: The Sky began the second half on a quick 4-0 spurt to close the gap to six, 45-39, and force the Sun into a timeout with 8:05 to play in the third. Chicago continued their push, outscoring Connecticut, 29-18, in the third quarter to take a one-point lead, 63-62, heading into the fourth. The Sky’s 29 third quarter points mark the highest the Sun have given up in a third quarter this season.
4Q: A 6-1 start to the fourth quarter by the Sky forced the Sun into a timeout with eight minutes to play in the game, 70-64. The Sun responded on a 9-4 run to cut the Sky’s lead to one, 74-73, with 5:12 to go in the fourth. The final minutes of the contest were a back-and-forth battle, with the Sun finding themselves down 80-77, with 1:52 to play. Two free throws from Ty Harris made it a one-point game, 80-79 with just over a minute to play, followed by one free-throw from DeWanna Bonner to tie the game with 35 seconds remaining. Connecticut turned up the defensive intensity and was able to get a stop with 15 seconds to go. The Sun called a reset timeout and Alyssa Thomas was able draw a foul on the Sky’s Chennedy Carter with four seconds remaining. Thomas sank both free throws making it 82-80 and the Sun were able to get one final stop to seal the victory.
Notes:
- With three field goals on the night, DeWanna Bonner moved into 10th all-time in field goals made in WNBA history, tying Cappie Pondexter.
- With eight rebounds in the game, DeWanna Bonner eclipsed 3,000 rebounds in her WNBA career. She is just one of 10 players in WNBA history to achieve that feat.
- Tonight marked Brionna Jones’ eighth straight game finishing in double-digit scoring, tying her third longest streak of her WNBA career.
- Tonight’s game marked the Sun’s seventh sellout of the 2024 season with an 8,910-attendance mark at Mohegan Sun Arena.
- Connecticut tallied a season-high six blocks on the night.
| Team | Score | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | PTS | REB | AST |
| CON | 82 | 17 | 28 | 18 | 19 | Mabrey- 24 | Thomas- 9 | Thomas- 11 |
| CHI | 80 | 17 | 18 | 29 | 16 | Carter- 19 | Reese- 20 | Allen- 6 |
NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun head to Brooklyn to take on the New York Liberty on Saturday, August 24 at 7:00 PM ET at the Barclays Center.