Sun bench accounts for season-high 53 points.
Uncasville, CT (September 10, 2023)- Today, the Connecticut Sun (27-13) fell to the Chicago Sky (18-22) in the final regular season contest of 2023, 102-91, in overtime. The Sun still take the regular season series versus the Sky, 3-1.
The Sun was led by Olivia Nelson-Ododa who tallied a double-double with a career-high 20 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks on the day.
1Q- Chicago began the contest on a 9-0 run, forcing Connecticut into a timeout with 7:04 to play in the first quarter. The Sun finished the quarter outscoring the Sky, 19-14, to cut the lead to four, 23-19, heading into the second. Alyssa Thomas led Connecticut with five points, four rebounds and two assists after the first ten minutes of action. Connecticut shot just 38.9% (7-18) from the field through the first quarter compared to Chicago’s 53.3% (8-15).
2Q- The Sun opened the second outscoring the Sky, 11-9, to cut into the lead by two, 32-30, with 4:42 to play in the first half. Olivia Nelson-Ododa had four of Connecticut’s 11 to begin the quarter. The Sun went on a 11-9 run to take a two-point lead, 41-39, with 1:24 to go in the first half, forcing the Sky into a timeout. Natisha Hiedeman had six of the Sun’s 11 on that run on two three-point field goals. Both teams tallied two points to close the quarter, with Connecticut taking a 43-41 lead into the locker room.
Hiedeman lead the Sun with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal. Nelson-Ododa added eight points and two rebounds, while Thomas tallied five points, five rebounds and four assists. The Sun shot 40.5% (15-37), while the Sky went 55.6% (15-27) from the floor after two quarters of action.
3Q- Connecticut began the second half on an 8-5 spurt to extend their lead to five, 51-46, with 6:04 remaining in the third. Tiffany Hayes tallied four of the Sun’s eight points in that opening stretch out of the locker room. The Sun extended their lead to ten, 58-48, with 4:34 to play in the quarter, but the Sky stormed back on an 8-0 run credited to former Sun guard Courtney Williams to cut the Sun’s lead to two, 58-56, with 3:12 to go in the quarter, forcing Connecticut into a timeout. Chicago finished the quarter outscoring Connecticut, 11-6 out of that timeout, to take a three-point lead into the fourth, 67-64.
4Q- The Sky opened the fourth on a 9-2 run to take a ten-point lead, 76-66, with 7:33 remaining in the quarter. Connecticut went on a 10-4 run of their own to cut Chicago’s lead to four, 80-76, with 5:10 to play in the fourth. The Sun trailed by as many as nine, 89-80, with 1:28 to play in the quarter, but in the final minute of action, they turned up the heat offensively. Connecticut trailed by seven after an Olivia Nelson-Ododa layup with 1:01 to go, then Ty Harris grabbed back-to-back steals and recorded a layup with 46.1 seconds left and a three-point field goal with 32.9 seconds left to cut Chicago’s lead to two, 89-87. The Sun were able to get a stop on the defensive end and called a timeout with 15.1 second to go in the quarter. A layup by DiJonai Carrington fell just short, but Sun rookie Leigha Brown grabbed the offensive rebound and put back to tie the game 89-89 with 4.1 second left. The Sky went to Marina Mabrey for a three-point field goal attempt for the win, but Olivia Nelson-Ododa got the block to send the game into overtime.
OT- Chicago opened the overtime period outscoring Connecticut, 10-0, to take a 99-89 lead with 1:21 remaining in the game. The Sky went on to win the extra five minutes, 13-2, and the game, 102-91. The Sun’s only overtime points came from the free throw line by Brown, as the team went 0-9 from the floor in the final five minutes.
Chicago was led by former Sun standout, Courtney Williams, who tallied her second-career triple-double with an impressive 23 points, 16 rebounds and 13 assists.
Sun Notes:
- Ty Harris finished with 17 points, two rebounds, one assists and three steals.
- DiJonai Carrington tallied 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.
- Natisha Hiedeman was the only starter who finished in double-figures with 13 points, one rebound, three assists and two steals.
- Leigha Brown tallied four points, a career-high six rebounds and a career-high four assists in a career-high 26 minutes of action.
- With four assists in the game, Alyssa Thomas finishes the 2023 regular season with 316 assists, a new WNBA single-season record.
- New York’s Courtney Vandersloot entered her game against Washington today two assists behind Thomas this season but finished with four assists in the game and 314 in the 2023 season.
| Team | Score | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | OT | PTS | REB | AST |
| CON | 91 | 19 | 24 | 21 | 25 | 2 | Nelson-Ododa- 20 | Nelson-Ododa- 11 | Thomas/ Carrington/Brown- 4 |
| CHI | 102 | 23 | 18 | 26 | 22 | 13 | C. Williams- 23 | C. Williams-16 | C. Williams- 13 |
NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun opens up the first round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday, September 13 at 8:00 PM ET at Mohegan Sun Arena.