Sun Looking For Seventh Straight Win As They Host Sparks

(AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

The Connecticut Sun, to the surprise of most observers, are on top of the WNBA Eastern Conference standings with a gaudy 6-1 record.

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

The six game winning streak is the Suns fastest start since 2012.

The Sun faced a challenging West Coast road trip and ripped off three impressive wins over the Seattle Storm (79-58), Phoenix Mercury (90-78) and the Los Angeles Sparks (76-68).

On the successful West Coast swing, the Sun was led by Kelsey Bone (2^nd year, Texas A & M) and point guard Alex Bentley (2nd Penn State).

Bone, who is playing like she is a guaranteed lock to make the WNBA All-star squad, reached a career high with a 27 point effort in the Suns double-overtime win over Phoenix.

Bentley poured in season best 19 and 21 points in the wins over the Mercury and the Sparks.

Veteran Camille Little continues to shine on the boards and on the defensive end.

The Sun have the best defensive stats in the WNBA allowing the opposition 68.0 ppg.

Little (8th year, North Carolina) also added 13 points in the Sun win over LA.

The Sun will host the Sparks this evening at the Mohegan Sun Arena with the opening tip set for 7 p.m.

SUN SPOTS

This evening’s contest with the LA Sparks (0-5) will be the second and final game in the 2015 season series between the two teams.

Los Angeles is off to the worst start in Spark history with a 0-5 record. The Sparks have been decimated by injuries to season-ending injuries to Candace Parker and Kristi Toliver.

Nneka Ogwumike and Alana Beard have missed a number of early season games and are just returning to form.

Bone, who is a powerful presence in the low post, ranks second in the league in field goal shooting percentage (.610). She leads the Sun in rebounding (6.7 per game), and is second in scoring average (14.9 ppg).

Bentley currently ranks second in the league in steals per turnover at 2.88.

The Sun rank first in the WNBA in four categories – steals per game (11.29), steal to turnover ratio (0.87), opponents points per game (68.0) and opponents turnovers per game (19.3).

The Sun will have a pair of home games after LA as they host Indiana (Tuesday, June 30) and Chicago (Thursday, July 2).

Both contests will start at 7 pm.

(Excerpts courtesy of the WNBA and Sun media departments)

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