Connecticut Sun vs. Las Vegas Aces preview capsule
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena
Tip: 7:30 p.m. (ION)
Probable starters: Aces, 6-4 C A’ja Wilson (27.5 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 2.4 apg), 6-4 C Megan Gustafson (3.2 ppg), 5-10 G Tiffany Hayes (9.5 ppg), 5-11 G Chelsea Gray (7.8 ppg, 4.9 apg), 6-0 G Jackie Young (16.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 5.4 apg).
Sun, 5-10 G Ty Harris (10.8 ppg, 3.3 apg), 5-11 G DiJonai Carrington (12.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg), 6-4 G DeWanna Bonner (16.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.0 apg), 6-2 F Alyssa Thomas (10.7 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 7.6 apg), 6-3 F Brionna Jones (13.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg).
Noteworthy: The Sun (24-9) beat the Seattle Storm 93-86 on Sunday, but fell in Tuesday’s rematch 71-64, with the offense getting “stuck a little bit,” said Connecticut’s Jones. “We’ve just got to do a better job at moving the ball and executing and getting the ball where we want it and getting the shots we want,” Jones said. Jones scored a season-best 26 points to lead the team in Sunday’s win and added 21 points Tuesday. Bonner led the way Tuesday with 26 points and Carrington added nine points and seven rebounds. “The team we saw on Sunday was a little bit uncharacteristic of who they are and so we certainly knew they were going to come out and be ready to play,” Sun head coach Stephanie White said of the Game 2 letdown. “I feel like we answered it in spurts but not consistently enough. We had opportunities and shot ourselves in the foot. ... You hold a good team to 71 points, you should give yourselves a chance to win and our offense wasn’t there tonight. I feel like sometimes when it’s not going our way, we get a little tunnel-vision.” ... The Sun are second in the WNBA standings. The two-time defending champion Aces, meanwhile are fourth at 21-12, coming off a 90-71 victory Tuesday over the Chicago Sky. Wilson had 30 points and 14 rebounds for Las Vegas, her eighth game this season with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds. She has scored 139 points in her last four games, tying Maya Moore, formerly of Minnesota, for the most in a four-game WNBA stretch. ... Following this game at home, Connecticut hits the West Coast for four games, beginning Sunday in Los Angeles. ... The Sun have already clinched a playoff berth, earning a spot in the postseason for the eighth straight season, the longest active streak in the WNBA. ... The Aces beat the Sun 85-74 on June 21 in Las Vegas with Wilson finishing with 26 points and 16 rebounds.
— Vickie Fulkerson
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