Log In


Reset Password
  • MENU
    Sports
    Wednesday, May 15, 2024

    Sun host Dream before heading off on brief West Coast swing

    Connecticut’s Brionna Jones (42) drives to the basket against Indiana’s Aliyah Boston during a May 19 WNBA game in Indianapolis. Jones and the Sun host the Atlanta Dream on Thursday night at Mohegan Sun Arena. AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

    Mohegan — The Connecticut Sun and Atlanta Dream play for the second time in five days on Thursday night, this time at Mohegan Sun Arena, before the Sun embark on a three-game road trip that includes West Coast stops in Los Angeles and Seattle.

    The Sun (8-2) beat the Dream 89-77 on Sunday in Atlanta, their seventh straight win over the Dream (3-5), in a game where forward Brionna Jones had 18 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.

    Consistency has been a key for Connecticut in Stephanie White’s first season as head coach. The Sun have had the same starting lineup for the first 10 games, and that isn’t expected to change on Thursday (7 p.m., NBCSB).

    Jones, Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, Natisha Hiedeman and newcomer Tiffany Hayes are all expected to start against Atlanta. Bonner leads the Sun in scoring at 17.3 points per game while Thomas averages a double-double (14.1 points, 11.3 rebounds ... to go along with 7.3 assists), Jones averages 14.9 points and 8.1 rebounds, Hayes is averaging 10.0 points and Hiedeman 8.6 points and 3.6 rebounds.

    White is also growing comfortable with an eight-player rotation with guard Rebecca Allen, guard/forward DiJonai Carrington and center Olivia Nelson-Ododa all playing important roles off the bench.

    The Sun will try to slow Atlanta’s Cheyenne Parker, an eight-year veteran out of Middle Tennessee who had 20 points and 14 rebounds during Sunday’s loss. She is averaging 15.5 points per game, right behind Allisha Gray (16.9) and Rhyne Howard (16.1), the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft and the 2022 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

    Following Thursday’s game, Connecticut will visit the Los Angeles Sparks and former head coach/general manager Curt Miller on Sunday, June 18, head up the coast to face the Seattle Storm on June 20, and finish the road trip on June 22 at the Minnesota Lynx.

    Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.