In the first game of the night, it was a close one beginning with a matchup of the Minnesota Lynx visiting the Connecticut Sun in the bubble. The Lynx managed to come back from trailing by 10 points in the second quarter to winning by nine points over the Sun with a score of 78-69. The Lynx also swept the Sun in the season series 2-0. Let’s take a look at how the teams did throughout this game.
Minnesota wins 78-69, coming back from down 10 to defeat the Sun.
— Lynx PR (@Lynx_PR) August 1, 2020
The #Lynx move to 3-1, the ninth time in the last 10 years opening 3-1 or better (a combined 33-7):
2011 — 3-1
2012 — 4-0
2013 — 3-1
2014 — 4-0
2015 — 3-1
2016 — 4-0
2017 — 4-0
2018 — 2-2
2019 — 3-1
2020 — 3-1
Lynx’s Both Defense And Offense Continues To Strive
The Minnesota Lynx once again came back in an old-fashioned style vs. the Sun. Sylvia Fowles, who became the league’s all-time leading rebounder earlier this week, had a big night with a double-double although she was in foul trouble. She tallied 21 points and 13 rebounds as she collects the third double-double of the season. Napheesa Collier, the 2019 WNBA Rookie of the Year, stepped up big on defense with 4 blocked shots and a steal. Besides, she almost had a double-double with 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. And not to mention, Collier had a perfect 7-7 (100 percent) field goal attempts.
Crystal Dangerfield selected 16th by Minnesota out of UConn, made a considerable impact on the point guard position in the starting five, scoring 17 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Bridget Carleton and Rachel Banham contributed from the bench scoring; 8 points for Carleton and 7 points for Banham. Erica McCall, who was signed by the Lynx after being waived by the Dream, stepped up in rebounding with 4 rebounds in the game.
The Lynx shot 42.4 percent from the field and improve to 3-1 in the season. The team’s defense is spectacular with 7 blocked shots and 11 steals and held the Sun’s scoring to 69. The Lynx also overcame from early foul trouble as they outscored the Sun in the paint 36-22.
Bonner Still Needs Help As The Sun Go 0-4
Player of the Game: DeWanna Bonner
— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) August 1, 2020
📆 8.1.2020
🆚 Minnesota Lynx
📊 28 PTS, 4 REB, 2 STL pic.twitter.com/zBrTTPqRNx
DeWanna Bonner has been on fire since the start of the season for the Sun, scoring 28 points. She grabbed 4 rebounds, dished out 2 assists, and had 2 steals. Brionna Jones stepped up for the Sun, scoring 15 points and 7 rebounds. Jasmine Thomas tallied 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Alyssa Thomas only scored 3 points thanks to the defense by the Lynx. She also collected 7 rebounds and 5 steals.
The Sun bench only scored 7 points, they need more contribution from the team, even without Jonquel Jones. The Sun also shot with a percentage of 34.9 percent from the field and had 16 turnovers in the game. Sun head coach Curt Miller pointed out that the team could not get a defensive rebound as it led to Minnesota’s second-chance points. He also stated that the Sun keeps giving up on leads during halftime:
“We played hard again. We’re tired, and we’re defeated a little bit mentally, we’ve had leads three [games] out of four at halftime. So we know we’re close. We’ve just got to string together two halves. When you play such good defense, and you get first-shot misses and can’t clean up the defensive rebound, it’s disappointing, and then it’s deflating when they kick it out and then score later, and you find yourself on defense for 30, 35, maybe above 35 seconds sometimes.”
-Sun HC/General Manager Curt Miller (Hartford Courant)
What’s Next For The Sun?
Briann January finally arrived at the bubble after delaying her travel due to testing positive for COVID-19. She’ll give the Sun a boost in three-point shooting and the ability to defend on both ends. The Sun was also a win away from a championship last season.
Now the Sun has a record of 0-4 with a different look in the team, as Courtney Williams and Shekinna Stricklen is now with the Atlanta Dream. Will they bounce back or miss the playoffs? Something to keep an eye on, the Sun also does not have a first-round pick for next year’s draft, it was instead dealt to Phoenix in exchange for DeWanna Bonner.
Tune into tomorrow’s games beginning with the Mercury vs. Liberty at 10 am PCT/1 pm EST. Then, the Dream vs. Fever at 12:30 pm PCT/3:30 pm EST. Lastly, there’ll be a game on ESPN 2 as the soaring Wings take on the Lady Aces at 3 pm PCT/6 pm EST.
Also, if you guys want more content of the bubble season, follow @wnba_wubble on Instagram. Earlier this week, WNBA games have been expanded by 13 on nationally televised games this season. The WNBA is SO essential with all of this energy, keep cheering out loud for your favorite WNBA teams, and watch more games!
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @ayaabdeen__ for more content. Follow my Diana Taurasi fan page on Instagram @dtaurasi3_fp. And check out more WNBA articles by the Beyond Women’s Sports team.
