Atlanta inflicts third defeat on Connecticut in four games

Atlanta’s Aerial Powers (23) drives to the basket during Friday’s WNBA game against Connecticut in Uncasville. (Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images).

Connecticut’s positive record after its 13-1 start to the season is starting to fade. The Sun have lost three of their last four games following a 78-74 loss to the Atlanta Dream in front of more than 7,000 fans Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The last two weeks have not been easy for the Sun. Connecticut traveled to Las Vegas and Seattle and lost tough games. The Sun had the advantage in both, but the host teams wore them down.

After a 94-91 overtime victory over Washington on Thursday, the Sun played their first back-to-back games of the season.

It won’t get better either. The Sun return West to face Phoenix on Monday night, then face Minnesota next Thursday in Minneapolis before returning to Connecticut for three games to close out the first half of the season before the Olympic break.

The opportunity to win was there Friday against Atlanta. The game was tied 11 times and the lead changed hands 16 times. The Sun had a two-point lead with 3:41 left and cut the deficit to one with 2:09 left but couldn’t get over the hump.

“We had some opportunities and some plays here and there, some turnovers at the right time, some missed shots,” Suns coach Stephanie White said. “And Atlanta made plays and shots when they needed to, especially in the second half and late in the game.”

Atlanta’s Alisha Gray had some great plays in the final two minutes. She hit a shot from 17 feet that didn’t hit anything with 1:44 left in the game to extend Atlanta’s lead from one point to three points, 70-67.

At the other end of the court, she blocked a three-point shot attempt from Connecticut’s DiJonai Carrington, triggering the break in the other direction for the Dream (7-9). Jordin Canada hit two threes and the lead was five, 72-67, with 1:18 left.

Atlanta led by three points, 74-71, with 38 seconds left after Bonner hit two free throws. The Sun had a chance to tie, but Ty Harris’ three-pointer hit the front rim of the basket and fell into the hands of a Dream defender.

“When you play the second half of back-to-back games, execution is everything and they did a better job of executing in that second half,” White said.

Gray led the Dream with 17 points while former Sun MVP and No. 1 draft pick Tina Charles had 14 points.

Bonner led the Sun (14-4) with 17 points, with Carrington scoring 15 points, including 3 of 6 from three-point range. She had a career-high three steals. Alyssa Thomas had 14 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Harris had a tough shooting night, hitting just 2 of 9 shots for six points.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored seven points, grabbed two rebounds and had a steal in 11 minutes off the bench.

The game was tied 19-19 after one quarter, with Alyssa Thomas collecting four rebounds and four assists in ten minutes of action. The Sun outscored the Dream by two, 14-12, in the second quarter to take a two-point advantage, 33-31, into the locker room.

Connecticut was able to take a four-point lead over Atlanta, 62-58, with seven minutes left in the game, but Atlanta finished the game by outscoring Connecticut 20-12 for the rest of the game to take the 78- 74.

Both teams struggled to take care of the ball, with the Sun turning it over 18 times and the Dream turning it over 19 times. However, Atlanta was able to capitalize more on turnovers, scoring 17 points off Connecticut’s 18 errors, while Connecticut only scored 14 points off Atlanta’s errors.

The Suns’ 23 field goals and 26 rebounds were new season highs. Connecticut starters were responsible for 17 of the team’s 18 turnovers.

On Thursday night in Washington, the Sun trailed by 16 points in the game, marking the largest deficit the team has overcome in a win this season. Washington led Connecticut 82-75 with 2:37 left in regulation, but the Sun finished the fourth by scoring seven unanswered points to force overtime.

The final five minutes of play were a fierce battle, but Connecticut was able to hang on, outscoring Washington 12-9 in overtime, to earn the victory.

Bonner led the Sun in scoring and finished with his second double-double of the season, tallying 24 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Harris had a career-high 23 points to go along with one rebound, one assist and a career-high four steals.

Carrington finished the season with a season-high 22 points. She scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half and overtime, including 10 of the Suns’ 12 points in overtime. Carrington finished the season with four three-pointers in the win.

Veronica Burton added some sparkle off the bench with nine points and a season-high five assists. She also drew a crucial offensive foul on Washington’s Julie Vanloo in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime.