Connecticut Sun fend off a late surge to edge out Minnesota Lynx 86-80 - WNBA Recap
On Saturday night the game between Connecticut Sun handed Minnesota Lynx a 86-80 defeat. In doing so, the Sun made a bit of franchise history as for the 1st time, they had 3 players with
double-doubles in the same game.
Kara Lawson netted a game high 22 points and had 10 boards to lead the way;
“We knew we were kind of up against it coming in to play a team that had lost a couple in a row and was feeling like they needed to get back on track as well,'' Lawson said after the game. ``This lets us assert
ourselves and create some space in the East.'' Connecticut now leads Indiana by 2 1/2 games”.
Tina Charles came up with 19 points and 15 boards while forward Asjha Jones chipped in with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
This was the third loss in a row for a team that seemed unbeatable at the start of the season. Minnesota were led by Maya Moore, who recorded 19 points.
Early in the 4th frame, Lynx were trailing by 20 points but deep into the fourth they reduced it down to just 4 points. Moore reflected on their mistakes after the game.
Veteran Taj McWilliams-Franklin poured in 15 points and had 8 boards while Seimone Augustus and reserve Candice Wiggins recorded 14 and 11 points respectively in Minnesota’s 4th loss of
this season.
Sun’s opened the game with 14-6 run and stretched it down to 20-10 deep into the opening frame. Lynx came up with a 8-3 burst and reduced the gap to 23-18 by the end of 1st stanza.
Minnesota clawed Sun’s lead off with a 12-4 spurt and claimed a fragile 30-27 advantage early in the 2nd period. However the game remained close afterwards and with 2:48 in hand the scores
were tied at 34 each. Sun chiselled their way out of the stalemate with a 7-nothing run and took a 41-34 lead. However Wiggins and Harris each came up with a jumper for Lynx and narrowed the gap down to 41-38, by the end of opening half.
Connecticut used a 12-2 burst early in the third to claim a double-digit, 51-40 lead. Lynx could only come as close as 57-50 when Sun’s embarked on a 13-4 run and capped of the frame. Sun finished the third quarter
with a 70-54 lead.
With 7:10 on clock Sun were leading by 74-54 but things changed dramatically afterwards. McWilliams-Franklin came up with a layup for Minnesota and that resulted into a huge 21-4 spurt. With this they trimmed
down the 20 points lead to just 3, 78-75.
However they couldn’t eat away the 3 points deficit in the ensuing passage.
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