By Tiffany Williams –
The Connecticut Sun had the Washington Mystics exactly where they wanted them.
Then they let the game get away.
Connecticut exploded for a season-high 33 points in the opening quarter Tuesday night at CareFirst Arena, carried a lead into the second period and went into halftime tied with Washington.
Then the Sun’s offense vanished.
Aneesah Morrow delivered a career-high 21 points, Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored 16 and Connecticut received double-digit performances from Diamond Miller, Saniya Rivers and Kennedy Burke.
It still was not enough.
The Mystics took control during a brutal third quarter in which Connecticut scored only 10 points, turning what had been a furious back-and-forth game into another painful loss for a Sun team that fell to 7-21.
Connecticut did not lose because it started slowly.
It lost because it could not sustain the aggression, pace and shot-making that made the first quarter look like one of its best offensive stretches of the season.
Washington scored the first four points behind Shakira Austin and Sonia Citron, but Connecticut quickly answered.
Leïla Lacan-Walker put the Sun on the board at the free-throw line before Aneesah Morrow began attacking the Mystics from every level of the floor.
Aneesah Morrow scored five quick points to bring Connecticut within 9-7 and reached double figures in only five minutes.
She tied the game at 16-16 with a 26-foot three-pointer and shot 100% from beyond the arc during the opening quarter.
Saniya Rivers then scored inside to give Connecticut its first lead of the night.
The Sun did not stop there.
Kennedy Burke buried a 26-foot three-pointer with the game tied at 24 before Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored four points to create separation.
Kennedy Burke finished the quarter with a 27-foot buzzer-beater that gave Connecticut a seven-point lead.
Thirty-three points in 10 minutes.
That was a season high for the Sun in any quarter.
That was Connecticut playing fast, confidently and without hesitation.
That was the offense the Sun desperately needed.
It did not last.
Sonia Citron opened the second quarter with a three-pointer for Washington, but Diamond Miller answered from deep to keep Connecticut in front.
Leïla Lacan added five points during consecutive scoring possessions as the Sun continued to withstand Washington’s pressure.
The Mystics kept coming.
Michaela Onyenwere hit from long range and later cut to the basket to tie the game at 43.
Saniya Rivers and Aneesah Morrow combined for seven points to put Connecticut back ahead, but Washington’s defense began to squeeze the life out of the Sun’s offense late in the half.
Cotie McMahon and Sonia Citron pushed the Mystics in front before Saniya Rivers delivered a buzzer-beater that sent the teams into halftime tied at 54.
Connecticut had survived Washington’s response.
The Sun had 54 points at halftime.
They had multiple players producing.
Aneesah Morrow was playing the best offensive game of her young career.
Everything was still there for the taking.
Then came the third quarter.
Then came the collapse.
Kiki Iriafen found her rhythm and helped Washington build a six-point advantage.
Sonia Citron followed with another basket before Olivia Nelson-Ododa ended a Connecticut scoring drought with a turnaround jumper.
The Mystics kept attacking.
Lauren Betts and Shakira Austin scored on consecutive possessions, extending Washington’s lead to 12.
Connecticut had no answer.
The Sun scored only 10 points in the entire quarter and entered the fourth trailing by 15.
A game that had been tied at halftime had been ripped apart in 10 minutes.
That was the difference.
Connecticut had played with pace and freedom in the first quarter.
By the third, every possession looked heavier.
The shots stopped falling.
Washington controlled the interior.
The Mystics created separation while the Sun struggled just to generate clean offense.
Aneesah Morrow, Kennedy Burke and Nell Angloma tried to start a fourth-quarter response, but Washington refused to reopen the door.
Shakira Austin and Kiki Iriafen combined for four more points, stretching the advantage to 18.
Olivia Nelson-Ododa continued fighting inside.
Diamond Miller converted a basket and the ensuing free throw.
Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Kennedy Burke followed with consecutive scores to reduce the deficit.
But Connecticut had spent too long digging the hole.
The comeback came too late.
Aneesah Morrow finished with 21 points, four rebounds and two assists while reaching another career milestone with her first basket of the game, surpassing 500 career points.
The rookie also placed herself in rare company.
Aneesah Morrow became only the 15th WNBA player age 23 or younger to score at least 14 points in an opening quarter.
The two most recent players to accomplish that were Sonia Citron and Caitlin Clark.
Aneesah Morrow also became the ninth player age 23 or younger to record at least four three-pointers and multiple steals in the first half.
She joined Rhyne Howard, Ariel Atkins, Coretta Brown, Diana Taurasi, Kayla McBride, Lauren Jackson, Maya Caldwell and Maya Moore.
Those accomplishments made the defeat even more frustrating.
Aneesah Morrow gave Connecticut a career performance.
The Sun received 16 points, six rebounds and three blocks from Olivia Nelson-Ododa.
Diamond Miller scored 12.
Saniya Rivers and Kennedy Burke added 11 points apiece.
Connecticut had five players reach double figures.
It scored 33 points in the first quarter.
It entered halftime tied.
And it still walked away with another loss.
That is the reality of a 7-21 team.
The flashes are there.
The talent is there.
The fight appears in stretches.
But the execution does not last for four quarters.
Connecticut showed what it can become during the first 20 minutes.
Washington exposed what it still is during the next 10.
The Sun now travel to Chicago to face the Sky on Thursday, July 30, at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Connecticut does not need another explosive quarter followed by a disappearance.
It needs a complete game.
Until that happens, career nights and hot starts will continue ending the same way.
With the Sun wondering how another winnable game slipped away.