Connecticut suffers first loss of the 2024 postseason
Minneapolis, MN (October 1, 2024)- Tonight, the Connecticut Sun (28-12, 1-1) fell to the Minnesota Lynx (30-10, 1-1), 77-70, in Game 2 of the WNBA Semifinals on the road in Minneapolis. With the Sun loss, the best-of-five semifinal series is now tied 1-1, with Games 3 and 4 to be played in Connecticut.
Alyssa Thomas led the Sun with her fourth double-double of the 2024 postseason, notching 18 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals. She played all 40 minutes in tonight’s contest.
DeWanna Bonner finished 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and a postseason career-high tying five steals. She also moved into third all-time in scoring in WNBA postseason history, passing Tamika Catchings. She now has 1,143 points in her playoff career and is only seven points shy of passing Candace Parker for second place.
Marina Mabrey logged 15 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in 38 minutes of action. DiJonai Carrington rounded out the Sun’s double-digit scorers with a postseason career-high tying 14 points, four rebounds, one steal and one block on the night.
Connecticut trailed Minnesota, 12-10, after the first quarter of play. The Sun opened the game missing their first eight field goals, but the Lynx also went 2-15 on their first 15 shots. Minnesota won the second, 24-20, to take a six-point lead over Connecticut at the break, 36-30. The Sun shot just 28.6% (10-35), while the Lynx went 40.6% (13-32) through the first twenty minutes of play.
Minnesota opened the second half on a 5-0 run to extend their lead to 11, 41-30, forcing Connecticut to burn a timeout with 8:22 to play in the third. The Sun trailed by as many as 14 in the third, but were able to cut the deficit to nine, 58-49, heading into the fourth. Connecticut trimmed Minnesota’s lead to seven four times down the stretch, but that would be as close as they would get, as the Sun only outscored the Lynx, 21-19, in the final ten minutes of play.
The Sun shot a postseason low 36.4% (24-66) from the field, while the Lynx went 45.2% (28-62) from the floor- the best field goal percentage by a Sun opponent during the postseason thus far. Connecticut won the battle in the paint (38-30), in second chance points (12-11) and on the fast break (13-9).
Courtney Williams led Minnesota with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal in the game. Connecticut held Minnesota’s top scorer, Napheesa Collier, to nine points and three field goals which is just the second time this season she has failed to finish with at least 10 points in a game.
Notes:
- The Sun’s 70 points and 16 assists in the game mark new postseason lows.
- Connecticut committed a postseason high 15 turnovers resulting in 10 points for Minnesota. The Lynx also committed 15 turnovers which resulted in 15 points for the Sun.
- With five steals in the game, DeWanna Bonner moved into third all-time in steals in WNBA postseason history, passing Maya Moore. She now has 99 steals in her postseason career.
| Team | Score | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | PTS | REB | AST |
| CON | 70 | 10 | 20 | 19 | 21 | Thomas- 18 | Thomas- 10 | Thomas- 7 |
| MIN | 77 | 12 | 24 | 22 | 19 | Williams- 17 | Collier- 12 | Collier- 5 |
NEXT GAME: The No. 3 seed Connecticut Sun will host the No. 2 seed Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of the WNBA Semifinals on Friday, October 4 at 7:30 PM ET at the Mohegan Sun Arena.