Sun pick up first victory over Mercury in 2023

Uncasville, CT (August 31, 2023)- Today, the Connecticut Sun (25-11) defeated the Phoenix Mercury (9-27), 84-74. With the win, the Sun avoid the season-sweep from the Mercury but lose the season-series 2-1.

The Sun was led by Natisha Hiedeman and Ty Harris who each tallied 18 points. Hiedeman finished with 18 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal, while Harris tied her career-high with 18 points, two assists and one steal.

1Q- After trailing the Mercury 7-0 early, the Sun went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to one, 9-8, heading into the first media timeout of the contest. Hiedeman and DeWanna Bonner each had three points to lead Connecticut in the opening five minutes. The Mercury outscored the Sun, 9-8, the rest of the way to take a two-point advantage into the second, 18-16. Connecticut scored eight of their 16 first-quarter points from the free throw line. The Sun struggled from the floor going just 21.4% (3-14) from the floor in the opening ten minutes.

2Q- Phoenix opened the second quarter outscoring Connecticut, 6-4, to push their lead up to four, 24-20, with 7:16 to go in the first half. The Sun responded on a 5-0 spurt to take a one-point lead, 25-24, and forcing the Mercury into a timeout with 6:20 remaining in the second. Phoenix extended their lead to as large as ten, 41-31, with 1:50 to go in the first half, but Connecticut ended the half on a 7-0 run to make it a one-possession game at the break, 41-38.

Bonner tallied 15 points and three rebounds in the first half to lead the Sun. Hiedeman added ten points, two rebounds and two assists, while Alyssa Thomas grabbed 10 boards through twenty minutes of play. Phoenix dominated the paint in the first half, outscoring Connecticut, 26-8. The Sun went 12-12 (100%) from the line through two quarters of play, while Phoenix was 5-8 (62.5%). Six of Connecticut’s ten field goals were from behind the arc in the first half.

3Q- The Sun opened the second half on a 7-2 run to take a 45-43 lead with 5:49 to go in the third quarter. Connecticut continued to push the pace offensively, outscoring Phoenix 13-6 the rest of the way to take a nine-point advantage into the fourth, 58-49. Thomas tallied six points and two assists in the third quarter to lead the Sun out of the locker room.

4Q- Connecticut began the fourth outscoring Phoenix, 8-7, to push their lead up to ten, 66-56, with 7:04 to play in the game. Tiffany Hayes had five of the Sun’s eight on that stretch. Phoenix responded on a 6-2 run on two made three-point field goals to cut Connecticut’s lead to six, 68-62, with 5:06 to go in the fourth. The Sun finished the game on a 16-12 run out of that timeout to close out the 84-74 win. Harris tallied 13 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead Connecticut in the closing ten minutes.

Phoenix was led by Brittney Griner who tallied 15 points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal and three blocks.

Sun Notes:

• DeWanna Bonner finished with 15 points, four rebounds and one steal on the evening.
• Alyssa Thomas notched her league-leading 26^th double-double of the season with 12 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
• Tiffany Hayes tallied 13 points, three rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block. This marks her 11^th straight game in double figures.
• Ty Harris went a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc, tying her career-high in three-point field goals made.
• Natisha Hiedeman nailed four three-point field goals in the win. The Sun are now 4-0 when Hiedeman hits at least three three-pointers in a game.
• With eight assists on the night, Alyssa Thomas now has 290 assists this season. She is 10 assists away from tying the WNBA single-season record of 300 (Courtney Vandersloot- 2019).
• With four rebounds in the win, DeWanna Bonner moved into 10^th all-time in rebounding in Sun history, tying Courtney Williams (735).

NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun travel to Brooklyn to take on the New York Liberty on Friday, September 1 at 8:00 PM ET at Barclays Center.