DeWanna Bonner adds a season-high outing.

Minneapolis, MN (July 4, 2024)- Tonight, the Connecticut Sun (16-4) defeated the Minnesota Lynx (14-6), 78-74. The Sun trailed by as many as 10 in the second half but were able to battle back and hang onto the lead late in the contest. Connecticut moves to 2-0 against Minnesota in 2024, with their final contest coming on September 17. The Sun also extend their win streak at the Target Center to five in a row, dating back to the 2021 season.

Alyssa Thomas had a career-night, tallying her 10^th regular season triple-double (league-leading) with 13 points, 10 rebounds and a season-high tying 14 assists. She scored 11 of her 13 points in the third quarter and played all 40 minutes in tonight’s win for the Sun. Thomas has tallied four of her 10 regular season triple-doubles against Minnesota, including her first career triple-double back in July 2022.

DeWanna Bonner led Connecticut in scoring, notching a season-high tying 24 points on 10 of 16 shooting. She also added nine rebounds and one assist in the win. DiJonai Carrington also had a productive night offensively, scoring 17 points, along with six rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block. Veronica Burton added nine points and a career-high four steals in her first start for the Sun, filling in for Ty Harris who was out with an illness.

Minnesota saw a balance scoring attack in the effort with Alanna Smith leading the team with 14 points. Kayla McBride added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Bridget Carlton and Courtney Williams each added 12 points on the night. The Sun delivered the Lynx their third straight loss and their second loss at home.

Connecticut shot 45.5% (30-66) while Minnesota was 45.2% (28-62) on the night. Minnesota’s 13 three-point field goals mark the most Connecticut has given up this season.

Game Runs:

1Q: A 10-2 start from the Sun forced the Lynx into a timeout with 5:46 to play in the first quarter. Connecticut forced Minnesota into four turnovers in the early minutes, resulting in six of their first ten points. The Lynx outscored the Sun, 15-10, the rest of the way, including eight answered, to cut the lead to three, 20-17. DeWanna Bonner led Connecticut with 11 points, while Alyssa Thomas dished out five assists through ten minutes of action.

2Q: Minnesota continued their push to begin the second, taking a 22-21 lead over Connecticut with 7:40 to play in the half. The Sun responded on an 8-0 run of their own to take back the lead, 29-22, with 5:43 left in the second. The Lynx answered once again, outscoring the Sun, 18-7, the rest of the half to take a 40-36 lead over the Sun into the locker room. Bonner led Connecticut with 15 points, three rebounds and one assist, while Thomas notched nine assists in the first half.

3Q: The Lynx began the second half on an 8-2 to run to take their first double-digit lead over the Sun, 48-38, with 8:09 to play in the third. Sun rattled off ten unanswered to tie the game 48-48 with 5:58 to go in the quarter. Connecticut continued to click offensively, outscoring the Lynx, 12-9, the rest of the quarter to take a six-point edge into the fourth, 64-58. Thomas notched 11 points to lead the Sun in scoring in the ten minutes out of the break. The Sun’s 28 third-quarter points marked a new season-high for third-quarter points.

4Q: Connecticut gave up a 6-3 Minnesota run to begin the fourth, taking a 67-64 lead into the first media timeout of the quarter. The Sun continued their push, extending their lead to ten, 74-64, with 2:51 to play in the contest. Minnesota responded with six unanswered cutting the lead to six, 74-70, with 49.0 seconds in the quarter. Two free-throws from DiJonai Carrington extended the Sun’s lead to six, 76-70, but a three-pointer by Minnesota’s Kayla McBride cut the lead back to three, 76-73, with 8.2 seconds on the clock. Carrington responded with a quick lay-in with 6.5 second left and a last-second jumper by McBride was no good, letting the Sun come away with a 78-73 victory.

Notes:

The Sun outrebounded the Lynx, 35-28. Both teams dished out 23 assists.
Connecticut outscored Minnesota in the paint (30-20), but Minnesota had the edge in second chance points (13-12), fast break points (10-9) and bench points (13-8).
DeWanna Bonner moved into 6^th all-time in games played in WNBA history, tying Katie Smith (482).
Veronica Burton made her first start this season for the Sun in tonight’s game. She now has started in 20 games in her career, with this evening being her first start since September 10, 2023 with Dallas.
DeWanna Bonner matched her season-high with 15 first-half points. Alyssa Thomas recorded nine first-half assists, one-shy of her career-high and franchise record for assists in a single half.
The Lynx scored 26 points off the Sun’s 18 turnovers, including 16 points off of their nine first-half turnovers.
Tonight, marks Alyssa Thomas’ 4^th game of 2024 with 10+ assists and 21^st 10+ assist game of her career. The Sun are 4-0 this season when Thomas dishes 10+ assists.
Minnesota’s all-star forward Napheesa Collier exited the game with a left foot injury with 2:33 to play in the third quarter, finishing the game with just nine points, 11 points under her season average entering the game.

Team	Score	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	PTS	REB	AST
CON	78	20	16	28	14	Bonner- 24	Thomas- 10	Thomas- 14
MIN	74	17	23	18	15	Smith- 14	McBride- 8	Williams- 6

NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun head back home to host the Atlanta Dream on Sunday, July 7 at 1:00 PM ET at Mohegan Sun Arena.

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