Sun rout Mystics as DeWanna Bonner becomes WNBA's No. 4 all-time scorer

The Connecticut Sun bounced back from Wednesday’s brutal road loss to the Indiana Fever with a 96-85 rout of the Washington Mystics in D.C. on Saturday.

Veteran superstar DeWanna Bonner scored 16 points in the victory to reach 7,381 career points, surpassing Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings (7,380) for No. 4 on the WNBA all-time scoring list. Bonner is 107 points behind No. 3 Tina Thompson, who concluded her 17-year career in 2013 with 7,488 points.

“I feel like every time we have a game, DB is hitting another milestone,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “When you think about the greats in this league, her name doesn’t come up nearly as often as it should — not just in terms of her numbers and her production, but her remarkable consistency. She’s played every role on multiple teams. She’s won championships. … It just really is incredible what she’s been able to do, and how consistent she’s been able to be, and I feel like these last two years, there’s even been a resurgence for her.”

DiJonai Carrington pushed the Sun out to an early lead with an explosive shooting performance in the first quarter. She went 3 for 3 from beyond the arc for 11 points in her first nine minutes on the floor, also adding two rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Connecticut also got critical offensive contributions from Veronica Burton and Olivia Nelson-Ododa off the bench. Burton drained her first 3-point attempt seconds after checking in, and Nelson-Ododa added a layup on the next possession that kick-started a 13-2 Connecticut run over the next three minutes.

The Sun had some early miscues with four turnovers in the first six minutes of the game, and Washington led the turnover battle at halftime, forcing eight against Connecticut with three steals. The Sun were equally disruptive with five first-half steals, and they capitalized with 12 points on seven Mystics turnovers.

Both teams went without a field goal for the final four minutes of the first quarter as foul trouble became a concern. The Sun sent Washington to the free-throw line 10 times for eight points in the first quarter, and the Mystics returned the favor with six second-quarter fouls. Connecticut entered halftime 10 for 10 on free throws, while Washington failed to draw a single shooting foul in the second or third quarter.

The Sun played almost the entire second quarter without superstar Alyssa Thomas, who went to the locker room after a collision with Mystics forward Karlie Samuelson. She returned to the bench midway through the third quarter and was cleared to return to the game, but White kept her sidelined as the Sun maintained a comfortable lead with another game Sunday against the Seattle Storm at home. Thomas finished with a rebound and an assist in just seven minutes of playing time.

“She’s sore, certainly. We’re gonna make sure that we get her back and get her reevaluated to see how she how she feels for tomorrow,” White said. “I know that there’s still some concerns. I think probably in a pinch she could have went, but not really something that we wanted to chance. We want to make sure that she’s healthy and ready to go.”

Marina Mabrey started the third quarter in place of Thomas and immediately took over the scoring mantle from Carrington with three consecutive 3-pointers in the first two minutes. Mabrey’s nine quick points powered another 15-2 Sun run, opening up what was then the team’s largest lead of the game. Bonner also got hot late in the quarter, scoring 11 of her 16 points in the third alone.

“There’s players like me who are so much younger that I’ve been watching (Bonner) since Auburn, and she’s still cooking these people at her age,” Mabrey said. It’s cool to play with her too, because anytime you see her, it’s like, I’m passing to her and she’s going to get a bucket every time. So I’m super proud of her, and she’s one of the players that I’ve looked up to for a while.”

Connecticut kept raining down 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter with back-to-back makes from Burton and Harris, and the Mystics never cut the Sun’s lead to less than eight points before the final buzzer. Connecticut finished shooting 60.9% from 3-point range, by far the best performance of the season for a squad that averages 31.4% beyond the arc. They also hit 50% from the field and went 22 for 22 at the free-throw line. Washington, which ranks second in the WNBA in 3-point percentage, hit 46.7% from outside.

Mabrey was the Sun’s leading scorer with 21 points, shooting 7 for 13, adding five assists to finish just behind Harris’s team-high six. She also led Connecticut with six rebounds. Carrington anchored the defensive effort with four steals after she had a career-best six against the Fever on Wednesday, and she also added 17 points, three rebounds and a block.

“I did what I try to go out there and do every night: Just be active, do whatever the team needs,” Mabrey said. “But really, I’m just happy to be playing with this team and all these players … I appreciate them, and also I’m just going to keep trying to do more and more for the team, especially defensively.”