Connecticut Sun improve to 8-0 with Atlanta Dream loss

The Connecticut Sun extended the most successful start in franchise history to eight straight wins on Sunday with a 69-50 road victory over the Atlanta Dream.

The Sun (8-0) are just the seventh team in league history to open a season with eight straight wins, and three of the previous six won the WNBA Finals that year. All played in the Championship Series. They are also the only team in 2024 with fewer than two losses.

Connecticut’s decisive victory was driven by 2023 MVP runner-up Alyssa Thomas, who once again missed a triple-double with eight points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. Thomas recorded her first triple-double in the season opener against the Indiana Fever and is already one of three players in WNBA history to record multiple triple-doubles in a season after setting the record for the league in a single season with eight in 2023.

8-0. Let’s go there on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/67DNaVFulT

– Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) June 2, 2024

“His passing is instinctive, and you see that with all the great passers that have played this game. They have this thing you can’t teach, and she has it,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “We wanted to give her a triple double tonight and we couldn’t do it, but she does everything you can’t teach. She’s the ultimate competitor and that allows her to do things that, when you look at her, you think she shouldn’t be able to do. But she does it because she’s committed to being the best, and she plays with that chip on her shoulder every day. »

The Sun continued their trend of disappointing first quarters, starting 0-for-4 on field goals for the second straight game while Atlanta opened 3-for-4. The Sun struggled to break down the Dream’s defense early the start, giving up three turnovers in the quarter without forcing any against Atlanta. However, Connecticut immediately settled in to dominate the second quarter and take a 12-point halftime lead.

The Sun entered the locker room on a 20-6 run after holding the Dream without a field goal for the final four minutes of the second quarter. DeWanna Bonner powered the offensive streak, scoring 12 of his 14 first-half points in the second while grabbing eight rebounds.

However, Bonner picked up a fourth foul early after halftime and spent most of the third quarter on the bench. Tyasha Harris stepped in to fill the scoring void with a 3-point basket to become the second double-digit scorer, and the Dream continued their offensive slide in the third. The Sun held them for more than five minutes without a field goal while forcing four turnovers in the third quarter.

“I was incredibly proud of our defensive effort,” White said. “It gets difficult with these quick turnarounds, and you don’t have time to go through everything live. Atlanta runs a lot of really good things that make defense difficult, and I felt like our players individually were paying attention not only to our defensive principles, but also to player tendencies and player personnel – knowing the personnel and the forcing you to have a tough look.

UConn alum Crystal Dangerfield ended the drought on a jump shot that seemed to energize Atlanta. The Dream went on a 14-6 run with less than three minutes left in the third, and four of Connecticut’s points came after Bonner’s comeback with 1:36 on the clock. Bonner recovered from her lowest performance of the season Friday to record a team-high 18 points plus 10 rebounds and two blocks against the Dream. The Sun’s starting guards all had a productive day with 15 points from DiJonai Carrington and 13 from Harris, and the two combined for eight rebounds and six assists.

Atlanta entered the game with the second-best 3-point percentage in the league, but the Sun held the Dream to just 3 of 16 from beyond the arc. Former UConn star Tina Charles, who had eight points in the first half, went scoreless for the entire third quarter and finished with just 12 on 5 of 18 shooting. Charles led Atlanta in rebounding with 12 , but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Sun. Connecticut dominated the paint with 36 points to the Dream’s 26 and recorded 45 rebounds to 33.

“I think the biggest thing is just trying to not allow their wide open shots, their catch and shoot shots, their rhythm shots,” White said. “We wanted to make it as difficult as possible when they have to shoot with their hand in their face, or when they have to shoot after a handoff, shoot when they feel pressure. If they make those shots, then they deserve it, right? So I think just try to make everything as difficult as possible, and it starts with DiJonai, but I felt like even Ty when she lit up on (Rhyne) Howard and (Allisha) Gray did a good job by staying connected and trying to make life difficult. »