Lawson drops a crucial three as Connecticut Sun squeak past Seattle Storm – WNBA Recap
On Sunday night, in a closely fought battle, Connecticut Sun edged out the Seattle Storm 60-58 to stay at the top of the Eastern Conference with the playoffs just around the corner.
Kara Lawson led Connecticut with 13 points and 5 rebounds while Tina Charles lent a helping hand with 12 points. Mistie Mims, who had the final say in the game when she split a pair of free throws with 2.7 left on the clock, had
a double-double performance of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Renee Montgomery also played a vital role as she kept the bench scoring alive with 10 points to her name.
Shekinna Stricklen paced Seattle with 12 points and 5 rebounds off the bench. Tanisha Wright added 10 points and grabbed 3 rebounds while Camille Little had 11 points and 6 rebounds in the game.
Seattle dug themselves a hole with their inability to control of the ball. They turned the ball over 23 times and it the main reason for their downfall on Sunday night. The game hung in balance early on but that did not last for
very long as Connecticut, leading by a point deep in the quarter, reeled off a 5-0 run and took a 15-9 lead.
Another 5-0 run to start the second period saw them prolong their advantage further. However, Seattle were not going out that easy and started making their way after the mid-way point of the stanza. A 12-2 run allowed Storm to
pull back within three, trailing by 25-28 heading into the break.
The third quarter was another closely contested affair with both teams cancelling each other out at the start of the stanza. A tad below 4 minutes remained in the period when Connecticut created some breathing space courtesy of
a 6-0 run only to see Seattle make their way right back with five un answered point to close out the stanza.
There was not much to separate the two sides in the final quarter either. Storm were leading by one with a shade under five minutes remaining on the clock, when Sun raced off to a 8-3 run to carve out a four point lead. That lead
was however converted into a 4 point deficit as Storm struck back with 8 unanswered points. What followed was a Kara Lawson three to make it a one point game and seconds later, Montgomery slipped in a pair from the stripe to give Sun a one point lead at 59-58.
However, the game was not going to end without another twist as Mims missed one of her free throws allowing Seattle a chance to either tie or win the game on the last possession. But Seattle could not make the most of this opportunity
as Stricklen missed from beyond the arc and the clock ran out for a Connecticut victory.
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