UConn's Napheesa Collier leads Lynx in 88-77 rout of Sun to advance to WNBA Finals

Emily Adams, Hartford Courant on Oct 8, 2024

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The Connecticut Sun couldn’t overcome a disastrous first-half performance in Game 5 of their WNBA playoff series against the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday in Minneapolis, suffering an 88-77 loss that ended the team’s season in the semifinals for a second consecutive season.

Former UConn star Napheesa Collier became the first player in WNBA history to record at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in three consecutive playoff games. The Lynx leader finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 62.5% from the field and also adding four blocks and four assists. Teammate Courtney Williams added a postseason-high 24 points and led the Lynx with seven assists plus two steals and five rebounds.

The No. 3 Sun had won their previous three consecutive winner-take-all playoff games dating back to 2022, and the loss ended a streak of seven away teams pulling off closeout wins on the road.

The No. 2-seeded Lynx advance to their first WNBA Finals since UConn legend Maya Moore led the franchise to its fourth title in eight years in 2017. They will face the No. 1 New York Liberty at Barclays Center in Brooklyn for Game 1 on Thursday.

Connecticut was led by All-Star center Brionna Jones, who recorded her first playoff double-double since 2021 with 16 points and 10 rebounds. DiJonai Carrington, the WNBA’s most improved player in 2024, had a dominant second half despite shooting 4 for 14 from the field, finishing with 17 points that included a 9-for-11 performance at the free-throw line.

Veteran forward DeWanna Bonner joined them in double digits with 14 points and nine rebounds, but superstar Alyssa Thomas was effectively limited with seven points, six assists and two rebounds despite entering the game averaging a near triple-double.

Connecticut got out to a hot start with an early 9-4 lead, powered almost entirely by point guard Tyasha Harris and Jones. Harris, making her second start of the semifinals after missing Game 1 with ankle injury, made the assist to Jones for the Sun’s first basket of the game and had five points of her own in the first three minutes.

Despite the early production, the Sun quickly fell into a deep hole once Minnesota’s shooters got hot. The Lynx answered Connecticut’s five-point lead with a 10-0 run that finally ended with a 3-pointer from Marina Mabrey soon after she checked in. The Sun’s spark off the bench had five points in her first eight minutes on the court, but the team was forced to play several minutes in the second quarter without her after she went to the locker room briefly with a left ankle injury.

Minnesota put up 31 points in the first quarter, shooting 60% from the field and 57% from 3-point range. Williams, who averaged 16.5 points across the Sun’s Games 2 and 3 losses to the Lynx, was unstoppable offensively throughout the first half, ending the second quarter with 15 points after shooting a perfect 6 for 6 from the field.

The Lynx’s offensive effort was balanced before halftime with 14 points from guard Kayla McBride and 13 from Collier. The 53 points Connecticut allowed in the first half came just one shy of the franchise record for points allowed in a playoff game (54), which was set by the New York Liberty in Game 3 of the 2023 semifinals.

Connecticut’s offense didn’t find much of a rhythm in the second half but still managed to battle back early in the third quarter with a new energy. The Sun went on a 7-0 run behind five points at the free-throw line, but they followed that up with eight missed field-goal attempts in a row. As soon as Connecticut went cold, the Lynx took advantage with a 3-pointer from center Alanna Smith that kicked off a streak of 12 unanswered points to reopen a 24-point lead.

The Sun found another big swing to end the third on a 7-0 run, but Minnesota still led 65-48 into the final quarter. Though Connecticut outscored the Lynx 29-23 in the fourth, the defense couldn’t find enough of an answer for Minnesota’s top scorers.