Luka, Giannis To Square Off In Olympic Qualifying
MINNEAPOLIS -- — DeWanna Bonner scored 24 points, Alyssa Thomas had 14 assists, 13 points and 10 rebounds, while DiJonai Carrington made big plays down the stretch to help the Connecticut Sun hold off the Minnesota Lynx 78-73 on Thursday night.
Bonner made 10 of 16 shots with two 3-pointers and added nine rebounds for the Sun (16-4), who have posted back-to-back wins after losing three of their previous four.
Thomas matched her season high for assists and Carrington finished with 17 points including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.
Alanna Smith scored 14 before fouling out to lead the Lynx (14-6). Kayla McBride had 13 points and eight rebounds.
Bridget Carleton connected on a 3-pointer and Diamond Miller followed with a three-point play as the Lynx scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to knot the score at 64. Bonner answered with a 3-pointer and a three-point play for a 70-64 lead and the Sun never trailed again.
Carrington blocked McBride's layup attempt with 28 seconds left that would have pulled the Lynx within two and added two free throws with 16 seconds remaining to push the lead to six. McBride sank a 3-pointer, but Carrington answered with a layup to wrap up the victory.
Bonner scored 11 on 5-for-7 shooting to lead Connecticut to a 20-17 lead after the first quarter.
Veronica Burton sank a 3-pointer to give the Sun a 32-24 lead with 4:42 left in the first half. McBride hit two 3-pointers and Carleton and Smith both made one in a 16-4 run to end the period and the Lynx took a 40-36 lead into halftime.
Smith had a 3-pointer and a layup in an 8-2 spurt to begin the third quarter to give Minnesota its largest lead at 48-38. Carrington made back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 10-0 run and Connecticut evened the score at 48. Thomas followed her three-point play with six straight free throws and a layup, scoring 11 of the Sun's final 14 points for a 64-58 advantage heading to the final quarter.
Connecticut has won five in a row against Minnesota in Minneapolis and improves to 2-0 against the Lynx this season.
UP NEXT
Minnesota will host the Washington Mystics on Saturday. Connecticut returns home to play the Atlanta Dream on Sunday.
------
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Southernafricadrought Tmo 2019342 Stunning South Africa Map Images Revealed 1.webp00b8efc36a84fc4ab37481d654cbb0c3 2023 09 02 African Union Suspended Members Map Screen Shot 2022 08 26 At 1.44.17 Pm 1004x1080 00b8efc36a84fc4ab37481d654cbb0c3 Africa Political Map Robinson Africa Map Africa Scaled South Africa Locator Map SAFRICA23 VP Map 1 Africa Political Map 1651 South Africa Map Box 1320x1320 Africalargemap South Africa Regions Map 768x672 Africa Political Map 2017 Maplewebandpc Printable Political Map Of Africa Main Qimg Fea33ef39447a1e2f9e0b7137cc02843Africa Countries 768x828 Africa4c