Brionna Jones scored nine of her 18 points in the fourth quarter as the visiting Connecticut Sun took control in the final period and pulled away for an 89-77 victory over the Atlanta Dream Sunday afternoon in College Park, Ga.
The Sun (8-2) won for the fifth time in six games and earned their second straight double-digit win by using a 13-0 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters.
Alyssa Thomas nearly posted a triple-double for the Sun by contributing 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists while also overcoming seven turnovers. DeWanna Bonner followed up her franchise-record 41-point showing from Thursday against Las Vegas by chipping in 15.
Tyasha Harris contributed a season-high 15, including a pair of baskets in the final seconds of the second and third quarters. The Sun shot 43.8 percent, survived missing 11 of 15 3-point tries and withstood 16 turnovers.
Cheyenne Parker scored 20 points to lead all scorers but Atlanta (2-5) lost its third straight game. Allisha Gray added 18 points and Rhyne Howard contributed 16 for the Dream, who shot 41.9 percent and missed 14 of 19 3-point tries.
Thomas scored 10 points as the Sun overcame an early 10-point deficit for a 25-24 lead after the opening quarter.
Bonner’s jumper gave the Sun a 46-40 lead with 49.2 seconds left and Connecticut took a 48-44 lead into halftime on a jumper by Harris right before the buzzer.
A layup by Natisha Hiedeman staked the Sun to a 52-44 lead less than two minutes into the third quarter, and a basket by Jones made it 55-48 with 5:03 left. AD Durr hit two buckets in a span of 49 seconds to get Atlanta within 60-58 before Parker’s putback forged a 60-60 tie with 99 seconds left.
But the Sun took a 65-60 lead into the fourth after Harris hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left. The Sun extended their run to 13 when Jones converted a three-point play for a 73-60 lead with 8:02 left in the game.
Atlanta got within 77-68 on a 3-pointer by Nia Coffey with 5:18, but a jumper and a 3-pointer by Bonner pushed the lead to 84-70 with 2:36 left to essentially finish it off.
–Field Level Media
