Sun play matinee at Chicago on Wednesday
The Connecticut Sun are catching the Chicago Sky at a time where the latter is playing some of its best basketball of the season.
The defending WNBA champion Sky have moved up the standings and were a half-game behind the league-leading Las Vegas Aces prior to Tuesday’s games.
The Sun (13-6) play at Chicago (13-5) on Wednesday afternoon (noon, Wintrust Arena, NESN).
The Sky have won six out of their last seven games, starting with an 83-79 road win at Connecticut on June 10. Candace Parker made two free throws with 28.4 seconds remaining in the game to put the Sky ahead for good. The Sun missed their last two shots and turned it over on their final three possessions.
Chicago’s biggest win of late was a record-setting 104-95 road win at Las Vegas on June 21. The Aces shot 63.6-percent in the first quarter to take a 41-18 lead, just two points off the WNBA record for most points in a quarter. They led by as much as 28 points (51-23) with 7 minutes, 23 seconds left in the first half.
The Sky proceeded to put together the biggest comeback in league history. Courtney Vandersloot scored 20 of her game-high 25 points during their rally and former UConn standout Azura Stevens finished with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Connecticut’s offense has taken a drastic turn downward after a hot start to the season. It was second in the league in scoring (87.9 ppg) from the beginning of the regular season (May 7) through games on June 18. It also had a league-leading 47.2 percent shooting percentage over that time.
The Sun has averaged a league-worst 70.7 points since then and shot 40.7-percent, second worst in the WNBA. They’ve lost two of three games during that stretch.
• Sun forwards Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones were named WNBA all-star reserves. Teammate Jonquel Jones was named a starter last week. The all-star game will be played at Chicago on July 10 and be televised by ABC at 1 p.m. Games captains will draft their teams on Saturday.
Thomas leads the Sun in assists (5.8) and steals (1.4) per game. Brionna Jones is averaging 13.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game this season.
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