Connecticut Sun rout shorthanded Phoenix Mercury 88-69 for third straight win on the road

The Connecticut Sun won their third game in a row amid a four-game road trip, dominating the Phoenix Mercury for an 88-69 victory on Friday.

The Sun (27-10) completed a four-game sweep of the Mercury (17-20) with the win in Phoenix, though their opponent was short-handed with just nine available players. Star guard Kahleah Copper was ruled out last-minute for the Mercury with a back injury, and the team is missing former Sun starter Rebecca Allen with a hamstring injury sustained at the Olympic break. Phoenix rookie Celeste Taylor, who played for a single 7-day contract with the Sun in August, made the second start of her career on Friday.

A 22-0 run in the second half powered the Sun to victory, and former Mercury star DeWanna Bonner scored nine of her 14 points for Connecticut in the third quarter. However, the Sun put together a complete effort from start to finish with four players scoring in double digits and three different players leading the team in points, rebounds and assists.

“I’m proud of our effort,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “We answered runs in the first half and came out and really set the tone in the third quarter. On the defensive end, we got a little bit more more aggressive in terms of keeping them out of rhythm, making their catches tougher, get getting stops that led to transition opportunities for us. We shared the basketball, which is always important; took care of the basketball, which is always important for us, and we got another big win on the road.”

Connecticut quickly established control of the game, taking its first lead off of a steal by All-Star center Brionna Jones that turned into a transition 3-pointer for Tyasha Harris. The Sun point guard hit another shot from beyond the arc on the next possession, and she found the basket a second time in transition with a layup assisted by superstar Alyssa Thomas. Two of Thomas’s three first-quarter assists went to Harris.

Despite Harris’s hot hand early, Connecticut shot just 39.1% from the field and 3-for-10 from 3-point range in the first quarter. The Sun made the most of their defensive opportunities amid the slow offensive start, logging 10 points off of five Phoenix turnovers in the first quarter alone.

The Mercury still kept things close in the first as UConn legend Diana Taurasi sank a deep three that cut Connecticut’s lead to just two points with less than a minute and a half left in the quarter. But the Sun found an answer, as they so often have since the Olympic break, with guard Marina Mabrey. The sharpshooter ended the quarter on her first 3-pointer of the night to re-open a two-possession lead for Connecticut.

Connecticut’s shooters warmed up as the half progressed. Veronica Burton checked in late in the first quarter and sank her first 3-pointer in the opening seconds of the second. Mabrey followed her up with a three that beat the shot-clock buzzer and gave the Sun their first double-digit lead of the game. Mabrey had five points in her first four points off the bench and led the Sun with 13 points shooting 5-for-11 at halftime.

Jones also hit double digits for Connecticut in the first half with 10 points plus six rebounds, a steal and a block. Phoenix superstar Brittney Griner gave Jones a battle in the paint with 12 points and five boards at halftime, also adding a pair of blocks.

The Sun were up 46-38 at halftime, though they led by as many as 11 points with under five minutes left in the second quarter. Veteran star DeWanna Bonner’s first made field goal of the game was a 3-pointer that opened up the game-high lead for Connecticut, but Phoenix answered with a 7-2 run that got them back within two possessions.

“It took DB a little bit to get going, but I thought she started to finally find a rhythm, and then certainly when we broke it up into the third quarter, we wanted to try to keep minutes as low as possible in the fourth while still maintaining a sense of urgency and understanding that this is a team that can get back into ballgame,” White said. “(The guard rotation) is going to be a tough balancing act for us. It’s a good problem to have, but we need (Mabrey and Harris) both on the floor knocking down shots.”

Bonner kicked off the scoring for Connecticut in the second half, and though Griner and Mercury point guard Natasha Cloud answered that shot with back-to-back buckets, Phoenix went on to miss its next 10 field goal attempts in a row. Connecticut led by as many as 28 before Griner hit a layup with two seconds left in the third quarter that made it 70-44 entering the fourth quarter.

Phoenix responded to its disastrous third quarter by starting the fourth 6-for-6 from the field. Cloud and Griner combined for 13 points in three minutes to get the deficit back within 20, but the Mercury never truly threatened Connecticut’s lead. Jones finished as the Sun’s top scorer with 22 points plus nine rebounds, though Mabrey was right behind with 19 on a team-best three 3-pointers. Thomas had her third straight game with at least 10 assists, dishing 11 against the Mercury in addition to her seven points and three rebounds. DiJonai Carrington, though she shot just 3-for-10 from the field, matched Jones for a team-high nine rebounds on top of eight points and three assists.

“I thought defensively we were we were really aggressive. We didn’t allow any easy passes. We didn’t allow many easy shots,” White said. “Our rotations were there, and because of that we were able to get out in transition … I know they shot the ball incredibly well, but also Breezy — I mean, this is like the the fifth game that Breezy has been dominant on the interior. She set the tone for us early, and she opened up those 3-point shooting opportunities for the guards.”