By DJ Harding
Connecticut found themselves back at home after picking up their eighth win on the road which gave them a league best 8-0 start to the season.
Back at Mohegan Sun the Sun found themselves playing an opponent with the exact opposite beginning to the season as the Washington Mystics came to town with a 0-8 record to begin the season.
But Coach Stephanie White wasn’t about to count the Mystics out due to their record saying pregame “They are looking to get over the hump.”
Washington has played Connecticut in Mohegan this season only losing by seven points in what was the second win of the season for Connecticut.
The Sun also have some recent award winners going into tonight’s game as Coach White won Coach of the Month and Alyssa Thomas won Eastern Conference Player of the Month for May.
Coach White spoke about Thomas’s game saying “Every time she steps on the floor there is an internal desire to prove she’s the best on the floor.” White added “she (Thomas) just wants to win.”
Thomas achieved sevens across the board with seven points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in the win.
When asked about Coach of the Month Coach White said “Great players make coaches really good.”
Coach White spoke on the team as a whole and said “We have a very locked in and focused group that wants to compete for a championship.” Coach added, “We are not worried about May, we are worried about September and October.’
This time around looking to stay unbeaten Coach White emphasized ball security and attention to detail saying “every possession matters.
Washington, despite their record, stayed with Connecticut throughout the first quarter with the score at 19-18 as the Sun only held a one point lead.
DeWanna Bonner started off hot, scoring 10 points in the first quarter. By the end of the night Bonner scored 20 points and also grabbed a team high eight rebounds.
Bonner spoke on her performance after struggling to shoot well recently saying. “Definitely felt good.”
As the first half came to a close it was more of the same as Washington stayed close and even going into the half held a one point lead with a score of 33-32.
Aaliyah Edwards returning to the state where she played college basketball once again led the Mystics with 10 points at halftime. The rookie had 14 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Coming out of the half the Sun would start to pull away going on a 10-2 run to open up the second half. By the end of the third quarter Connecticut outscored Washington 26-10 giving them a 15 point lead.
Jones spoke on how they came out the half postgame saying “we knew we had to be better and we think we came out of the half and did that.”
Tyasha Harris with 12 points and Brionna Jones with 11 points would both reach double figures through three quarters. Harris ended with 14 points and six assists, while Jones finished with 15 points.
Connecticut eventually pulled away and would secure a 76-59 win to go to 9-0 which makes them the seventh team in WNBA History to do so.
Bonner postgame spoke on the 9-0 start saying “We are 9-0 we are winning but we aren’t playing good basketball and definitely need to improve.” Bonner continued “we have to get better.”
Connecticut will stay at home and play the New York Liberty on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 1:00PM EST.
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