Professional Basketball

Connecticut Sun Win Seventh Straight, Defeat Dallas Wings, 74-72, to Remain Undefeated

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Connecticut Sun Win Seventh Straight, Defeat Dallas Wings, 74-72, to Remain Undefeated

Alyssa Thomas finishes one rebound shy of a triple-double.

Uncasville, CT (May 31, 2023)- Tonight, the Connecticut Sun (7-0) defeated the Dallas Wings (3-3), 74-72, to remain the only undefeated team in the WNBA. Both teams saw double-digit leads disappear throughout the contest, but the Sun was able to close out the victory late in the fourth quarter after a pair of key defensive stops.

Brionna Jones led Connecticut in the win, tallying her first twenty-point outing of the season with 22 points, along with four rebounds and one assist. Jones also recorded a season-high 30 minutes of action after beginning the season on a minute restriction.

Alyssa Thomas finished one rebound shy of a triple-double, notching 15 points, nine rebounds and a season-high 14 assists. Seven of her 14 assists came in the third quarter, tying her career-high for most assists in a single quarter. Thomas also recorded a game-saving block denying Dallas’ Kalani Brown a lay-up that would have put the Wings up one with 9.6 seconds remaining in the game.

DeWanna Bonner added 12 points, four rebounds and two assists on the night. DiJonai Carrington finished with nine points and three rebounds and Ty Harris notched seven points, two rebounds, four assists and two steals in the win.

Dallas was led by Arike Ogunbowale who finished with 21 points, four assists and a team-high seven assists. Maddy Siegrist added 17 points for the Wings, going a perfect 8-8 from the floor.

Dallas shot 51.6% (32-62) while Connecticut finished 48.3% (29-60) from the field on the night. The Sun outscored the Wings in the paint (42-40) but lost the battle in second chance points (12-9), fast break points (13-10) and bench points (13-9) to the Wings.

Notes:

  • The Sun’s 7-0 start ties the 2023 Las Vegas Aces, 2014 Minnesota Lynx, 2007 Detroit Shock, 1999 Houston Comets and 1997 New York Liberty for 5th longest win streak to begin a season in WNBA history. The team also becomes one of 12 teams in WNBA history to ever start season 7-0 or better.
  • Alyssa Thomas tallied her 17th career points-assists double-double, which is good for fourth all-time in WNBA history. No one besides Thomas has recorded more than six points-assists triple-doubles in Connecticut Sun history.
  • Connecticut went a season-low 58.3% (14-24) from the charity stripe. The last time the Sun shot 58.3% or worse from the line, also came against the Dallas Wings on August 12, 2023 (50%).
  • Connecticut turned the ball over 11 times, resulting in 19 points for Dallas. Dallas turned the ball over 15 times, resulting in 19 points for Connecticut.

Team

Score

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

PTS

REB

AST

CON

74

18

22

19

15

Jones- 22

Thomas- 9

Thomas- 14

DAL

72

21

13

16

22

Ogunbowale-21

McCowan- 7

Ogunbowale- 7

 

NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun travel to Atlanta to face off against the Atlanta Dream on Sunday, June 2 at 3:00 PM ET at Gateway Center Arena.

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