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Sun Cruise to Third Straight Win – Head West For Three Games

The 82 points were a season high for the Sun.

(AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

(AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

 

The early season surprise team in the WNBA is none other than the Connecticut Sun.

Coach Anne Donovan’s squad has ripped off three straight wins after an opening loss (73-68) to the Washington Mystics.

The Suns latest win was a convincing 82 -64 win over the Atlanta Dream on Sunday, June 14, in front of 5,520 well satisfied Sun fans at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The 82 points were a season high for the Sun. Connecticut also shot a season-high 57.6% from the field.

The Sun improved their record to 3-1 while the Dream fell to 2-3.

The Sun dug a huge hole in the first quarter as they trailed the Dream 20-5 before going on a 34-8 run to take a 39-28 lead with 2 minutes left in the first half.

The Sun left the floor with a slim 39-36 lead at the intermission.

Connecticut broke open a close game by outscoring Atlanta 25-9 in the decisive fourth quarter.

The Sun had four players in double figures as Kelsey Bone (2nd year, Texas A&M) and Shekinna Stricklen (3rd year, Tennessee) led the team in scoring with 18 points each, while Jasmine Thomas (4th year, Duke) added 17 points and forward Alyssa Thomas (1st year, Maryland) chipped in with 10 points.

Stricklen gave the Sun a huge lift coming off the bench as she shot 7-for-9 from the outside, including four bombs from beyond the three point arc.

The Suns forced 26 Atlanta turnovers in the win including a Sun record six by point guard Alex Bentley (2nd Penn State).

The Dream was paced by guard Angel McCoughty who finished with 24 points.

 

SUN SPOTS

 

Kelsey Bone finished with a season high of 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Bone has scored in double digits in all four games this season.

What a difference a week makes. In last Sunday’s game in Atlanta, the Dream had a 51-25 advantage on the boards, including a whopping 17 offensive rebounds and a 26-5 edge in second-chance points.

On Sunday, each team had 26 rebounds; Atlanta had 10 offensive rebounds and a 15-12 edge in second-chance points.

The Sun forced 27 turnovers in the win, a new Sun opponent high. The old record was 26.

Camille Little (8th year, North Carolina) continues her excellent work in the paint as she led the Sun with 7 rebounds (six coming on the defensive glass).

The Sun will embark on a West Coast swing for three games against the Seattle Storm (June 16), Phoenix Mercury (June 19) and the Los Angeles Sparks (June 21).

The Sun will return to Mohegan Sun Arena on June 26 (7 p.m.) when they host the Los Angeles Sparks.

 

Follow Bob for all the Sun game highlights, features and more: @WhitneyBob

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Bob Whitney

Bob is a college basketball columnist here at DoubleGSports.com. He also covers Yale football and the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA.
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