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Uncasville, CT— The Connecticut Sun had a bad loss in their last time out, which left a bad taste in their mouth. And today, they made sure it wouldn’t happen again. Jonquel Jones and the duo of Alyssa and Jasmine Thomas of the Connecticut Sun (19-10) blew out the the Phoenix Mercury (15-14) on Sunday afternoon at the Mohegan Sun Arena, ending with a final score of 94-66.
Put simply: by the fourth quarter the game was over. The Sun opened up the gap with a 30-point lead and a 17-0 run. The Sun were not slowing down.
All five Connecticut Sun starters (Jasmine Thomas, Courtney Williams, and Shekinna Stricklen, Jones and the Thomas duo), ended in double figures. Jones had 20 points and 8 rebounds, while Alyssa Thomas added 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists.
This was the two teams second meeting this season, after Connecticut won 93-92 at home against the Phoenix Mercury on August 4th. The Mercury started off hot with an eight-point lead early in the first quarter, but trailed by one, 46-45, at the end of the first half.
The Sun’s quick feet and offensive pressure kept the Mercury from taking the lead, as Connecticut pulled away with a 17-point lead in the third quarter, outscoring Phoenix 26-12.
Sun’s head coach Curt Miller commented, “Certainly, we got some momentum going in that stretch. And again, hopefully we had something to do with it. But this league is hard. You play a Friday night game. You jump on a bus and have to come here and you play a Sunday afternoon game. That’s not easy for anyone.”
But where was the NBA’s all time leading scorer Diana Taurasi? Taurasi went 1-5 in the first half and posted seven points despite scoring 33 points in the first matchup between the Sun just two weeks ago.
Taurasi said, “They just kicked our ass. I mean that is just the bottom line. They kicked our ass in the second half in every aspect of the game.”
And although Brittney Griner lead the team with 18-points and six rebounds, she was unable to seek revenge, after not playing in the first matchup due to knee and ankle injuries.
These two teams will have one more rematch on Sept 1st in Phoenix, but first the Connecticut Sun tip-off against the Dallas Wings at home on Wednesday, August 23rd at 7:00 p.m.