By DJ Harding –
After defeating the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday, the Connecticut Sun would pay on their home floor once again versus the Dallas Wings.
With the Wings coming to town meant the homecoming for former UConn Husky (2018-23) Lou Lopez Sénéchal. Lopez Sénéchal missed the 2023 season due to injury so this was her first time playing in Connecticut since playing for the Huskies in 2022.
Lopez Sénéchal played one minute and only had one shot attempt.
Dallas enters with a record of 3-2 while the Sun sit at 6-0 which makes them number one in the league and the only undefeated team in the league.
The Wings entered the matchup down a few players as Jaelyn Brown, Natasha Howard, and Satou Sabally were all out due to injury.
When asked about the effect of the injuries coach Stephanie White said “They still have Arike”
Dallas head coach Latricia Trammell when asked about Arike Ogunbowale simply said “She’s a superstar.” Ogunbowale scored 21 points which led her team along with dishing out 7 assists.
Coach Trammell pregame spoke on keys to winning the game saying “We need to focus on not letting them take us out of our game.” Coach Trammell also added “They’re a physical team and play extremely well in the open court.”
Coach White pregame also spoke on factors needed to win saying “We have to be really disciplined in our matchups.”
Coach White was asked about the guards needing to rebound to which she replied “Absolutely.” Coach White continued. ‘Our bigs are going to have their hands full fighting in the paint with the bigs. So our guards have to rebound.”
Coach Trammell also in her pregame press conference was asked about playing the Sun which she responded to by saying “They’re always going to be tough.”
The Wings opened up the game on a 11-2 run taking an early lead over the undefeated Sun. Connecticut would go on a 8-0 run of their own to end the quarter only down three points.
With the score 21-18 Teaira McCowan led all scorers with eight points for Dallas, and Tiffany Mitchell off the bench had five points for the Sun.
McCowan finished with 10 points only scoring two points the rest of the game. McCowan also grabbed 7 rebounds.
Brionna Jones commented on how they slowed McCowan down after the first quarter saying “We made her half to work for her shots.”
Mitchell ended with those same five points but added three steals in the win.
The Sun after storming back into the game after being down early would eventually take the lead and hold a 40-36 lead at halftime.
Brionno Jones led the Sun with eight points, while Alyssa Thomas was on pace for a triple double with seven points, six assists, and five rebounds.
Jones had 22 points which led all scorers in the win along with grabbing four rebounds on 30 minutes of play which was her most so far this season after missing most of last season with an achilles injury.
Thomas postgame said “We missed her a lot.” Thomas continued “happy to have her out there.”
Thomas ended one rebound shy of a triple double grabbing 9 rebounds, dishing out 14 assists, and scored 15 points.
When asked about how she gets her teammates involved and feeds everyone Thomas said “Credit to my teammates”
Connecticut coming out the half would extend their lead 59-50 going into the final quarter. DeWanna Bonner would exceed double figures scoring 10 points through three quarters. For Dallas, Maddy Siegrist also crossed double figures with 13 points through three quarters.
Bonner finished with 12 points, her lowest of the season. Thomas postgame spoke on Bonner’s performance saying “We are not worried about that.”
Siegrist ended with 17 points shooting a perfect 100% from the field going eight for eight in the loss.
Dallas fought back tying the game up at 67 points a piece with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. The two teams traded a few buckets for the next minute as then with 45 seconds left the Sun had the ball down 72-71.
Alyssa Thomas scored a key bucket to give Connecticut the 73-72 lead with 38 seconds left. The Sun down the stretch missed three of four free throws but held the Wings scoreless down the stretch to gain the 74-72 win and stay undefeated.
Coach White Postgame said “Proud of our team for finding a way. Not being pretty but we’ve found ways to get wins.”
Jones postgame said “Always great to grid out a tough win.” Jones continued “To finish out and get the win and not play our best is always a great morale boost.”
Coach White also made a comment on the win saying “A win is a win.”
Connecticut now travels on the road heading to Atlanta to take on the Dream. The matchup is scheduled for Sunday, with tip-off scheduled for 3:00 PM.
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