Connecticut and Chicago battle under the Mohegan Sun once again

After a classic Game 1, the Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun will meet again on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET at Mohegan Sun Arena. Game 1 ended with the Sky coming out victorious in double overtime, winning 101-95. What can Chicago do to put the Sun in a 0-2 hole and what can the Sun do to even the series?

Chicago has continued to shock the WNBA world with performances we were expecting all season long. It appears the team is beginning to reach the potential that had many calling this team a “super team” back in late January. They’ve now won three-straight playoff games and are looking at going 2-0 against the No. 1 seed.

It’ll be easier said than done however, with Chicago having a tough assignment beating the Jonquel Jones-led Sun in back-to-back games. They’ll need another great performance from Candace Parker and the other bigs on the team as the Sun love to pack the paint and play bully ball. Expect a very physical game and lots of buckets near the rim.

Turnovers have been the Achilles heel for the Sky in the James Wade era and Game 1 was no exception. Chicago had 20 turnovers compared to Connecticut's 12. For the Sky to go up 2-0, they’ll have to do a better job of taking care of the ball.

The Connecticut Sun have been a dominant team all season long, but Chicago has given them headaches. The Sun have lost against the Sky three out of the four times they’ve played each other.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Sun respond in the first quarter. They have to get out to an early lead and set the tone for this game. That’s something they failed to do in Game 1 where they found themselves down 24-13 late in the first.

The Sun know what they need to do to win the game. They need to feed WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones the ball early and often, win the rebounding battle, and get good production from their limited bench.

Game information

No. 6 seed Chicago Sky vs. No. 2 seed Connecticut Sun

When: Thursday, Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. ET

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT

How to watch: ESPN2

Key to the matchup: Rebounding will be key for both sides. Whoever wins the battle of the boards will likely win the game. Connecticut loves to be aggressive and put pressure on the rim so expect them to go to J. Jones early and often. With such a physical game expected, it will be interesting to see how the game is officiated. Will the refs let them play or will they try to control the game? The Sun shot a poor 71 percent from the charity stripe last game, which isn’t good enough at this point of the season. The Sky will want to reduce turnovers and continue getting good production from their bench mob. They had three bench players score nine points in game one. Exhaustion has to be a factor for Chicago. It has played in two elimination games and a double overtime game on Tuesday. The bench will need to play more to help out the starters who played 35 minutes-plus on Tuesday.

Sky injury report: none

Sun injury report: none