Second-half struggles doom Connecticut Sun in 72-67 loss vs. Las Vegas Aces, A’ja Wilson

UNCASVILLE — After leading for the majority of the game, the Connecticut Sun suffered their loss in a row 72-67 against the reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces at Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday.Connecticut is now 0-2 against the Aces in 2024 and will face the back-to-back champs one more time during the regular season in Las Vegas next week. The Sun are currently in second place in the league and have six games remaining to preserve their postseason seeding.The Sun began the game on a hot shooting streak, starting 7-for-8 from the field and ending the first quarter hitting 73.3% to Vegas’s 40%. All-Star center Brionna Jones, who scored 20-plus points in back-to-back games against the Seattle Storm earlier this week, was an immediate catalyst for Connecticut’s offense with six points in the first five minutes, and she started 4-for-5 from the field. With Jones as the centerpiece, superstar Alyssa Thomas settled the Sun into a rhythm quickly with five of the team’s seven assists in the first quarter on 11 made shots.Marina Mabrey was the first player off the bench for Connecticut, but after missing her first two attempts from 3-point range she scored six points in a row to push the Sun to a 22-17 lead at the end of the opening quarter. The Sun also kept a lid on MVP frontrunner A’ja Wilson, who scored just four points on 2-for-4 shooting for the Aces in the first.Connecticut’s offense slowed down in the second quarter, but it was the defense that propelled the team to a double-digit lead at halftime. The Sun didn’t give up a single point to Wilson in the second quarter, and she was the only Aces player besides to Plum to record more than one field goal in the half. Both teams went nearly three minutes without a field goal to start the second quarter until Plum hit a three, but DiJonai Carrington answered with a transition layup to start a 7-1 run for Connecticut.The Aces came back with renewed energy in the second half, beginning the third quarter on a 12-2 run to cut the Sun’s 12-point lead to five in less than four minutes. Star point guard Chelsea Gray, who had just two points in the first half, hit two 3-pointers barely a minute apart to power the run, and DeWanna Bonner finally ended the Sun’s drought with a deep three of her own.Bonner scored five points in the first five minutes of the third quarter, but the rest of the team combined for just two to allow the Aces to erase Connecticut’s halftime lead. But when it mattered most, the Sun’s top scorers came in clutch: After Wilson made back-to-back layups to make it a one-point game late in the third, Jones hit a jumper off an assist from Mabrey, the grabbed a defensive board at the other end that turned into a 3-pointer for Mabrey in transition.Mabrey continued her hot hand into the fourth, extending the Sun’s lead with a long jump shot in the opening minute. Thomas began to find the net herself with five of her seven points coming in the fourth quarter, and she finished just short of a double-double with 10 rebounds and eight assists plus four steals.However, turnovers were a problem for Thomas and the Sun, who gave up 16 points on 19 lost possessions. Thomas contributed nearly half of the turnovers with a season-worst eight, though Connecticut also put up 12 points on 15 Vegas turnovers.Thomas picked up her fourth foul with under four minutes to play as the Aces cut the Sun’s lead to a single point with a 3-pointer from Plum. Wilson then hit a pair of free throws to give Las Vegas its first lead since the first quarter with less than four minutes on the clock, and though a layup from Jones put the Sun back in front, Wilson again came in clutch with back-to-back defensive rebounds and a deep jumper.Gray sank a 3-pointer from the elbow with 17 seconds remaining that put Vegas in front 71-67, and the Sun couldn’t recover after that. Wilson drew a foul in the final minutes and hit one of two at the line to put the game completely out of reach. The Aces superstar finished with 20 points, scoring 15 in the second half alone on 8-for-15 shooting. She also added a team-best eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Plum led Vegas in scoring with 27 points, and Gray also finished in double digits with 13.Jones was Connecticut’s leading scorer with 17 points on a highly-efficient 7-for-9 shooting plus six rebounds. Mabrey added 15 points, four assists and three steals despite shooting just 1-for-5 from 3-point range. The Sun struggled as a whole from beyond the arc, going 3-for-16.

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