Uncasville – The Connecticut Sun struggled early and never found an offensive rhythm, falling to the Minnesota Lynx 82-68 at Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday night.
The Sun made just 4 of 19 shots from the field in the first quarter, but Minnesota (5-0) led just 17-10 after the first 10 minutes.
“I don’t fault our effort,” Connecticut Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller said. “We tried really hard in the first quarter. We got around the paint like we wanted. The game plan was to really attack them and we got around the rim. But we missed a lot of makeable shots early and so sometimes that affects you at the other end, and they counter-punched us.”
Connecticut (0-4) was still within six points, trailing 23-17 with 7:12 left in the half when the Lynx went on a 19-9 run to build a 42-29 halftime lead. The Sun never got closer than 14 the rest of the night.
Minnesota center Sylvia Fowles – who had 21 points and 13 rebounds in an 80-78 win over the Sun on Tuesday – had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Lynx. while Rebekkah Brunson and Renee Montgomery each had 11 points for the Lynx. Lynetta Kizer led the Sun with a season-high 12 points.
Connecticut visits the Chicago Sky for a 6 p.m. EST game on WCCT-TV.