Connecticut Sun win 10th straight matchup with Los Angels Sparks 79-70, maintain best record in the WNBA

UNCASVILLE — The Connecticut Sun returned from back-to-back road trips with a decisive 79-70 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks in front of their home Mohegan Sun Arena crowd on Tuesday.

Connecticut improved to a WNBA-best 13-1 with the win, extending the best start in franchise history. It was the Sun’s 10th consecutive victory over Los Angeles dating back to 2020 and the Sparks’ fourth loss in a row this year.

“There’s still always room for improvement,” Star forward Alyssa Thomas said. “These are the games we’re supposed to win. So when we have nights like this where everyone’s contributing, this is what we want to see in every game. We just have to continue to build on this.”

The Sun continue to find consistency in their starts and led Los Angeles 18-14 after the first quarter. Brionna Jones began shooting 3-for-4 from the field for seven points in the first five minutes, but she sat the rest of the quarter after picking up two quick fouls. Thomas also landed in early foul trouble, logging two points, four assists and three rebounds in the first quarter before spending more than five minutes on the bench in the second with two fouls.

Connecticut’s backcourt stepped up with the forwards limited, and DeWanna Bonner was the only double-digit scorer on either team at halftime with 10 points plus two steals. Tyasha Harris also drained a pair of 3-pointers and shot 100% from the field in the first half for eight points.

The Sparks suffered a devastating blow less than four minutes into the game when star rookie Cameron Brink misstepped driving against Jones and was carried off the court with an apparent left knee injury. She did not return to the bench. Los Angeles turned to 6-foot-7 Li Yueru in Brink’s absence, and the second-year center had one of the best games of her young career with 11 points shooting 5-for-6 plus two rebounds and two assists.

“They just had to play differently. They had to play a little bit bigger at the five with Li Yueru in there. They had to play small some, so it just changed the dynamics of how they played,” White said. “The way that Brink and (Dearica) Hamby work off of one another … is tough to guard, so not having that dynamic was was was challenging for them, but also for us. It gave us an opportunity to look at some different lineups as well. We were able to go small, able to try to play Breezy and (Olivia Nelson-Ododa) together a little bit, just giving some different looks.”

Yueru made the Sparks’ only first-half 3-pointer, but the Sun held them to an abysmal 16.7% from beyond the arc while hitting above 50% both from the field and from three before halftime. Los Angeles finished 6-for-17 from 3-point range led by two makes from UConn alum Kia Nurse, and Aari McDonald led the Sparks with 14 points plus seven assists.

Connecticut built on its lead immediately in the second half, and all five starters were in double-digits by the end of the third quarter. Bonner ended as the Sun’s leading scorer with 16 points, also adding seven rebounds. Harris was close behind with 14 shooting 6-for-9 from the field and 2-for-2 on 3-pointers. The Sun also scored 30 points off 22 Sparks turnovers, while Los Angeles forced just 11 against them.

The Sun bench had another impactful performance as Tiffany Mitchell logged six points shooting 3-for-7 plus four rebounds, and Rachel Banham also scored seven and added two assists after a season-high 16 points against the Dallas Wings on Saturday.

“Everybody contributed, and everybody that got minutes came in and really did a good job of lifting us up,” White said. “It’s important for us to continue to build our depth, so we had a good opportunity to do that here … We continue to get better, but obviously as coaches, we’re never happy. We always want to strive for what perfection looks like, but we’re trending in the right direction.”

Thomas finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists plus two steals, once again coming just short of her signature triple-double stat line. Last year’s MVP runner-up is already one of just three players to record multiple triple-doubles in a season and could become the first to do so in three different years if she records a second in 2024. Her first came in the season opener against the Indiana Fever.