Connecticut Sun swept by Las Vegas Aces in 84-71 loss as A’ja Wilson surpasses 1,000 regular-season points

After three consecutive wins on the West Coast, the Connecticut Sun ended their final road trip of 2024 on an 84-71 loss to the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob Ultra Arena on Sunday.The Aces (24-13) also delivered the Sun their most recent loss at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sept. 6. They are the only team to sweep the Sun (24-10) over a four-game series in 2024. The loss adds even more pressure to Connecticut’s matchup Tuesday against the Minnesota Lynx in Uncasville with the No. 2 seed in the WNBA Playoffs on the line.Las Vegas superstar A’ja Wilson scored a game-high 29 points against Connecticut, becoming the first player in WNBA history to record more than 1,000 points in a single regular season. The Sun finished with three players scoring at least 10 points, but the team was less inefficient outside of its hot hands shooting 42.2% from the field and 6-for-19 from 3-point range.Tyasha Harris had another hot start for the Sun, kicking off the offensive effort with a 3-pointer on her first shot of the game. But Vegas also opened the first quarter with a 3-pointer from Jackie Young, and the reigning champs then went on an 11-2 run to lead the Sun by as many as seven points. Young, who has been in an offensive slump for several games, put up six points in the first five minutes, and her pair of three powered a 4-for-7 shooting start from beyond the arc for Las Vegas.Sun coach Stephanie White brought Marina Mabrey in for DiJonai Carrington seeking a a new scoring dimension shortly after Connecticut went down 14-7, and she delivered the spark off the bench that the Sun needed. She matched Young with six points on two 3-pointers, including a buzzer beater the end the first quarter that cut the Sun’s deficit back to just four points.Harris became the first Connecticut player in double digits when she hit her second 3-pointer early in the second quarter, and Brionna Jones also had a dominant first half with 10 points and five rebounds shooting 5-for-8 from the field. But despite a balanced offensive effort that also included a combined 16 points from Carrington and Mabrey, Connecticut couldn’t keep pace with Las Vegas’s weapons. Wilson unsurprisingly led the Aces with 11 points in the first half, but the Sun also struggled to contain star guard Kelsey Plum after she went without a single field goal attempt in the first quarter. Plum scored her first points of the game with less than three minutes left in the half, then went on to hit three field goals in a row to end the half with nine points and give Vegas its largest lead of the game 48-40.Despite a big first half from Jones, the Aces led the rebounding battle and outscored the Sun in the paint 22-18 in the fist half. Connecticut’s saving grace was its effectiveness in getting to the free throw line, taking 11 attempts to the Aces’ three before halftime.The Sun shot above their season averages at all three levels in the first half, but the Vegas defense locked down in the second. After putting up a quick four points in the first two minutes of the third quarter, the Aces held Connecticut without a field goal for more than five minutes and opened up their first double-digit lead behind a 12-3 run.Mabrey hit a long jump shot to stop the bleeding from Connecticut with three minutes left in the third quarter, and she sank another one seconds later to get the Sun back within 15 points of the Aces. But Wilson responded again for Las Vegas with back-to-back layups and drew an and-1 against Jones on the second for five unanswered points.Connecticut answered Vegas’s dominant third quarter with a more aggressive start in the fourth, setting the tone with a block on Wilson by former UConn standout Olivia Nelson-Ododa. The defensive play kicked off a 9-3 run for the Sun that cut into the Aces’ lead, but Plum and Tiffany Hayes came in clutch for Las Vegas with back-to-back 3-point makes.Mabrey finished as the Sun’s leading scorer with 18 points shooting 70% from the field, and Jones came a single board shy of a double-double with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Harris joined the pair in double digits with 16 points, and she shot a team-best 4-for-7 beyond the arc.

Buy cryptocurrency

Source link

Refer And Earn Demat Account – Get ₹300 | Referral Program

Open Demat Account In Angel One For FREE