Minneapolis, MN: The No. 3 seed Connecticut Sun (28-12, 1-0) hit the road for Game 1 of the WNBA Semifinals against the No. 2 seed Minnesota Lynx (30-10) on Sunday, September 29 at 8:30 PM ET/7:30 PM CT at the Target Center. The Sun won the 2024 regular season series with the Lynx, 2-1. The game will air on ESPN and stream live on the ESPN app.
Storylines:
Last Time Out:
The Connecticut Sun defeated the Indiana Fever, 87-81, in Game 2 of the First Round of the WNBA Playoffs on Wednesday night to take the best-of-three series, 2-0. Alyssa Thomas led the way for Connecticut with a double-double, notching 19 points, 13 assists, five rebounds and one steal in the win. Four other Sun players finished in double-figures in the game as Marina Mabrey notched 17 points, two rebounds, a postseason career-high six assists and two blocks. DeWanna Bonner added 15 points, a team-high eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. DiJonai Carrington, the 2024 KIA WNBA Most Improved Player, finished with 10 points, four rebounds, one assist and two steals. Veronica Burton provided a spark off the bench, tying her postseason career high with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes of action.
This Season vs. Minnesota:
The Sun finished the 2024 regular season against the Minnesota Lynx, 2-1, winning the first two meetings and dropping the last. The Sun narrowly defeated the Lynx, 83-82, in overtime on May 23 in Connecticut. Alyssa Thomas, Brionna Jones and DeWanna Bonner combined for 57 of the Sun’s 83 points in the win. On July 4, the Sun picked up a 78-73 win over the Lynx on the road in Minneapolis. Thomas notched her second triple-double of the season with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists. In Connecticut’s second to last regular season game of 2024 on September 17, they fell to Minnesota in another close competition, 78-76. The game saw 10 lead changes and three ties, as Connecticut rallied from down 12 late in the second half but could not complete the comeback.
Taking Home Most Improved:
On September 25, DiJonai Carrington was named the 2024 KIA WNBA Most Improved Player. Carrington received 28 of 67 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. She averaged career highs of 12.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.56 steals this season, up from 8.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.63 steals in 2023. In addition, she recorded a career-high 25 games with 10 or more points. Carrington paced all WNBA players in games with at least five steals (three) and ranked ninth in steals per game. Carrington is the fifth player to win the Kia WNBA Most Improved Player Award with the Sun, joining Brionna Jones (2021), Jonquel Jones (2017), Kelsey Bone (2015) and Wendy Palmer (2004).
Opponent History:
Connecticut is 32-27 all-time against Minnesota during the regular season and 2-1 record during postseason play. The two teams first and only playoff matchup came a season ago when the Sun defeated the Lynx, 2-1, in the First Round of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs. The Lynx are led by All-Star forward Napheesa Collier who is leading the league in postseason scoring at 40.0 points per game. The Lynx defeated the Mercury, 2-0, in the opening round of the playoffs this season, with Collier tying the WNBA postseason record with 42 points in the Lynx’s 101-88 win over the Mercury in Game 2. Head Coach Cheryl Reeve is in her 15th season with Minnesota and