Alyssa Thomas breaks WNBA triple-double record as Sun cruises past Sky
Alyssa Thomas had a historic triple-double, DeWanna Bonner scored 26 points to rank ninth in WNBA history, and Connecticut clinched a 96-72 win over visiting Chicago Sky on Sunday.
Thomas had 14 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for her fourth career regular-season triple-double, the most in WNBA history. Candace Parker and Sabrina Ionescu both have three triple-doubles.
It was her second triple-double this season, her first on Tuesday, the game The Sun lost to star Brionna Jones. Thomas also has two playoff triple-doubles.
The Triple-Double Machine‼️@athomas_25 drops her 2nd triple-double of the week & 6th of her career at the @ConnecticutSun to the dub 🙌#MoreThanGame pic.twitter.com/wy2YbjebcZ
Bonner has 6,454 career points, passing Katie Smith.
The Sun tied his best 15-game start in history (12-3), winning for the sixth time in seven games, en route to a Tuesday showdown with the New York Liberty. They have won twice in a row since Jones suffered an Achilles tendon injury at the end of the season. Jones had surgery on Friday.
Connecticut allowed 27 points in the first quarter and trailed by one point, but used a 16-4 run to take the lead in the second quarter. Thomas had 10 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to help the Sun, who had 18 assists on 23 baskets, to a 54–42 lead. They finished with 30 assists on 40 baskets.
Chicago had a 10-0 run in the third quarter to stay in the game, but the Sky only had nine points in the fourth quarter.
DiJonai Carrington had 17 points and Natisha Hiedeman 14 for the Sun, who had a season-record points tally. Connecticut scored at least 80 points for its 11th straight game. Thomas became the all-time recovering leader in franchise history.
Stewart sinks Mystics in OT
Breanna Stewart’s three-point play with 19.7 seconds left in overtime propelled the New York Liberty to an 89-88 victory over the visiting Washington Mystics on Sunday.
Sabrina Ionescu scored 31 points and Stewart added 18 for New York, who trailed 17 in the first quarter and eight with 2:28 left in regulation, before tying the game with two seconds left on a lay- up by Courtney Vandersloot.
The teams traded the lead many times in overtime before Natasha Cloud had a three-point game with 1:59 left to make it 88-86. Neither team scored until Stewart drove onto the track with 19.7 seconds left, made the basket and drew the foul.
She sank the free throw to give New York (9-3) the lead.
ONE BUCKET‼️@sabrina_i20 went off for 31 PTS (7 3PM), 3 REB, 6 AST, & 3 STL in an OT victory over the Mystics 🤝#MoreThanGame pic.twitter.com/ATPLhzsBhc
After a timeout, Washington (8-5) got the ball to Elena Delle Donne, whose runner bounced off the rim with just over 5 seconds left. The ball went out of bounds for the Liberty, giving the Mystics one last chance. Myisha Hines-Allen’s disputed shot with a second left missed and New York took the win.
Ariel Atkins led Washington with 24 points and Cloud added 23 and 11 assists.
The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Mystics, which forward Shakira Austin lost to a hip injury early in the fourth quarter.
Washington jumped New York at the start and scored the first 13 points of the game. The Liberty missed the first seven shots before Betnijah Laney made a reverse layup with 6:01 left in the quarter. Washington extended its lead to 17 in the period before New York came within 27-17 at the end of the quarter.
The Liberty launched their attack in the second quarter behind Ionescu and Laney, cutting their deficit to 45-39 at the half. Stewart missed all seven field goal attempts in the first half. It is only the third time in her career she has been held without a field goal in the first half.
Just before the game, Stewart was selected as the captain of the All-Star Game. It is the second consecutive year that she has held that position.
