Alyssa Thomas led the Connecticut charge as the Sun took a 1-0 lead over

the LA Sparks in their WNBA semifinal series.

By Bob Phillips





UNCASVILLE

—Alyssa Thomas led four Connecticut players who scored in double digits, and the Sun staged a second-half comeback to top the Los Angeles Sparks, 84-75, before 7,102 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Tuesday night.

This was the first playoff victory for the Sun, who finished No. 2 overall in the final WNBA standings, gaining a coveted bye into the semifinals, since 2012. A bye into the semifinals was of utmost important to Connecticut and the Sun faithful because the first two rounds in the WNBA’s… what’s the word I’m looking for? … we’ll just say “ unique ” playoff format are of the one-and-done variety.





Thomas had a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds for the Sun. This was her personal career high in playoff points (22) and was the second postseason double-double of her career. Her 10 boards tied her career playoff high.





Jasmine Thomas added 19 points and dished out a game-high eight assists, Jonquel Jones had 16 points and grabbed seven boards, and Courtney Williams popped in 15 points with seven rebounds and five assists to lead a balanced Connecticut attack.





Candace Parker led all scorers with 24 points and grabbed 10 boards, while Nneka Ogwumike added a double-double of her own (20 points and 10 rebounds) for the Sparks, who defeated the WNBA defending champion Seattle Storm 92-69, in the one-and-done second round to reach the semis. Keep in mind that the Storm were playing without their top two players—former UConn superstars Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart—who missed the 2019 season with injuries.





Nneka Ogwumike (left) and Jonquel Jones jostle for a loose ball. LA's

Candace Parker (right) watches.

Former Sun star Chiney Ogwumike, whom Connecticut drafted No. 1 overall in 2014, had a very quiet four-point, two-rebound performance off the bench for the Sparks. Indeed, the former Stanford All-American had as many personal fouls as points.



And did I mention she was met with a cacophony of boos by the partisan Sun crowd?





“It's sort of surreal,” she said. “[It was the] first time I came back here they booed and I guess it hurt me a little bit, because this place meant so much to me. But I understand why.”





The swarming, harassing Connecticut defense was on full display last night as the Sun forced 17 LA turnovers. They also limited The Sparks’ starting backcourt duo, Riquna Williams and Chelsea Gray, to six points on 3-for-17 shooting.





The Sun took a 21-14 lead at the first turn, but then lost their schizzle in the second and trailed by three, 40-37, at intermission. As has been the case most of the season, however, Connecticut came out strong, scoring the first nine points of the third quarter, which ultimately proved to be a back-and-forth affair. A layup by Courtney Williams at the buzzer gave the Sun a 59-58 lead at the third pole—a lead they would not relinquish.





“It’s always hard to pinpoint one kind of breaking point in a game, but, I thought [it was] the start of the third quarter for us,” said Sparks head coach Derek Fisher after the game. “After fighting really hard to have a three-point lead going into the half, we didn’t start the third quarter in the right way, and [Connecticut] scored nine points in one minute and 23 seconds on things that weren’t difficult for us to cover.”





Fisher, the former Lakers star, thought his team lacked a sense of urgency coming out of the locker room at halftime. “The momentum turned a little bit at that point,” he said.





And Fisher was right, Connecticut took the fourth quarter by a 25-17 and cruised to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.





“I think other than a stretch in that second quarter, where they may have scored six or seven straight possessions, I thought our defense for the most part really stayed in place,” said Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller. “And we wanted the defensive end tonight. That’s the maturation of this team—the maturation of the growth of this core group. We are finding ways to win differently than the last few years when we would win when we play great offense.”





As has been often the case, it was the Sun defense that shined brightest on this evening, and, as we all know, it’s defense that wins games in this league.





And championships.

Shekinna Stricklen, left, strips ball from Chiney Ogwumike, whose

return to Connecticut was not as successful as she had hoped.

“We held one of the most talented back courts to three for 17 and no threes,” continued Miller. “The only threes they got were from their post game or [Tierra] Ruffin-Pratt. So it was our defense that allowed us to keep them at arm’s length.”





box office, or by clicking The teams return to the Mohegan Sun Arena on Thursday for Game Two of the best-of-five series. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m., and tickets are available at the Mohegan Sunbox office, or by clicking HERE . For those unable to attend, the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.





In the other WNBA semifinal series, Emma Meesseman scored a career postseason high 27 points and grabbed 10 boards, and teammate Elena Delle Donne added 24 points, including a crucial turnaround jumper late in the fourth quarter, as the Washington Mystics held on for a 97-95 victory over the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1. The Mystics are the WNBA’s top playoff seed.





Sun Spots

Alyssa Thomas scored the Sun's first nine points and had 13 in the first quarter.

This was Curt Miller’s first playoff victory as head coach of the Sun.

The last playoff victory for Connecticut came in Game 1 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals—a 76-64 victory over the Indiana Fever.

Los Angeles won two out of three from the Sun in the regular season, but fall to 1-2 in Connecticut.

The Sparks' Candace Parker passed Ruth Riley (78) for third all-time in playoff blocks, and passed Sylvia Fowles (415) for fifth all-time in playoff rebounds.

Parker also moved to No. 14 on the WNBA’s all-time list of playoff assists with 154, and is tied for third all-time in WNBA history with 73 playoff steals.

This was the eighth time Nneka Ogwumike reached double-figures in the postseason. It was also her eighth playoff double-double.

LA's Chelsea Gray recorded her 100th career playoff assist.