Sun hit franchise postseason record 16 threes to secure win.
Uncasville, CT (September 13, 2023)- Tonight, the Connecticut Sun (27-13, 1-0) defeated the Minnesota Lynx (19-21, 0-1), 90-60, in Game 1 of the best-of-three series to begin the WNBA postseason.
The Sun was led by DeWanna Bonner who finished with a double-double, tallying 17 points, 15 rebounds and six assists in the win.
1Q- Connecticut took a 9-5 lead over Minnesota heading into the first media timeout of the contest. Tiffany Hayes led the Sun with six points, going 2-2 from beyond the arc, through the first five minutes of the game. The Lynx finished the quarter outscoring the Sun, 11-9, to cut the Sun’s lead to two, 18-16, heading into the second. Hayes led Connecticut with six points, while Bonner added five points and three rebounds through ten minutes of play.
2Q- The Sun opened the second outscoring the Lynx, 10-8, to push their lead up to four, 28-24, with 5:59 left to go in the half. Ty Harris had eight of Connecticut’s 10 points to begin the second. Connecticut went on an 11-3 run out of that media timeout to extend their advantage to 12, 39-27, with 2:52 remaining in the quarter. DiJonai Carrington tallied five of the Sun’s 11 on that stretch. Connecticut outscored Minnesota, 28-16, in the second quarter to take a 46-32 lead into the locker room.
Hayes led Connecticut with nine points and one assist, while Bonner and Harris each notched eight points through twenty minutes of play. Alyssa Thomas finished the first half with six points, two rebounds, six assists and four steals. The Sun shot 47.4% (18-38) from the field, including 50% (9-18) from beyond the three-point line in the first half.
3Q- Connecticut opened the second half on a 10-4 run to push their lead up to twenty, 56-36, and forcing Minnesota into a timeout with 7:05 left to go in the third. Thomas tallied six points and one assist in that opening stretch out of the locker room. The Lynx went on a quick 7-3 spurt to cut the Sun’s lead to 16, 59-43, with 4:13 remaining in the quarter. The Sun were able to close the quarter on a 10-9 run to take a 17-point lead into the fourth, 69-52. Thomas notched seven points in the third quarter to lead the way for the Sun.
4Q- The Sun began the fourth quarter outscoring the Lynx, 9-5, extending their lead to 21, 78-57, with 5:18 to go in the game. Bonner tallied four of Connecticut’s nine on that run to open the fourth. Connecticut was able to hold Minnesota to just eight fourth-quarter points, outscoring them 21-8 through the final ten minutes. Rebecca Allen led the Sun with nine points in the fourth, going 3-3 from beyond the arc.
Minnesota was led by Kayla McBride who tallied 16 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal on the night.
Sun Notes:
- Alyssa Thomas tallied a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists, along with three rebounds and postseason career-high tying five steals.
- Rebecca Allen finished with a postseason career-high 15 points, going 5-6 from three-point territory. She also notched postseason career-highs in rebounds (6), assists (3) and steals (4).
- Ty Harris recorded 12 points, two assists and one steal in the win.
- Tiffany Hayes tallied 14 points, going 4-6 from three-point range.
- DiJonai Carrington finished with nine points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
- In her first WNBA postseason outing, Olivia Nelson-Ododa notched two points, five rebounds and one steal in 12 minutes off the bench.
- With 17 points on the night, DeWanna Bonner moved into fifth all-time in scoring in WNBA postseason history (969), passing Lindsay Whalen.
- With 10 assists in the win, Alyssa Thomas moved into 12th all-time in assists in WNBA postseason history (185), passing Maya Moore, Kristi Toliver and Penny Taylor.
- Alyssa Thomas moved into first all-time in games played in Connecticut Sun postseason history, tying Asjha Jones (34).
- Natisha Hiedeman moved into third all-time in games played in Connecticut Sun postseason history, tying Nykesha Sales (31).
- The Sun set a new postseason record for three-point field goals made in a single game with 16 on the night. The previous record was 10 set on 9/19/19 against the Los Angeles Sparks.
- It is also tied for second-most three-point field goals made in a single game in WNBA postseason history, with Phoenix (9/8/07) and Washington (10/6/19).
- The league record is held by Las Vegas who hit 23 threes against Phoenix on 8/20/22.
- Connecticut forced Minnesota into 19 turnovers, which results in 30 points for the Sun.
| Team | Score | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | PTS | REB | AST |
| CON | 90 | 18 | 28 | 23 | 21 | Bonner- 17 | Bonner- 15 | Thomas- 10 |
| MIN | 60 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 8 | McBride- 16 | Collier/Juhasz- 6 | McBride- 3 |
NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun face off against the Minnesota Lynx in Game 2 of Round 1 of the playoffs on Sunday, September 17 at 1:00 PM ET at Mohegan Sun Arena.