DeWanna Bonner scored 20 points and Alyssa Thomas notched her first triple-double of the season to help the Connecticut Sun produce an 85-79 victory over the host Seattle Storm on Tuesday night.
Thomas had 13 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists and three steals for the Sun (10-3). She is the WNBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles with five, counting postseason play.
Natisha Hiedeman scored 17 points, Brionna Jones added 13 points and Tiffany Hayes had 12 for Connecticut.
WNBA scoring leader Jewell Loyd scored 33 points and made six 3-pointers for Seattle (3-8), which dropped to 1-6 at home. Ezi Magbegor recorded 13 points and 11 rebounds and Jordan Horston had 11 points and 13 rebounds off the bench.
Jones departed with a lower right leg injury with 1:05 left. It came on a non-contact play and she immediately grabbed for the Achilles/ankle area.
Connecticut shot 46.4 percent but was just 5 of 18 from 3-point range.
Seattle made 37.5 percent and was 8 of 25 from behind the arc.
The Storm trailed by 18 with 5:45 remaining before erupting on a 16-3 run. Two free throws by Loyd brought Seattle within 82-77 with 44.3 seconds left.
But Bonner drained a 3-pointer to make it an eight-point margin with 25.7 seconds remaining as the Sun held on. That basket elevated Bonner into 10th-place all time on the WNBA scoring list with 6,417 points. She passed Sylvia Fowles (6,415).
The Sun trailed by three at halftime before outscoring Seattle 22-8 in the third quarter. Loyd had just one point in the stanza.
Connecticut used a 13-2 run to open up a 65-53 lead on Thomas’ basket with 1:26 left in the period. The Sun led 67-56 entering the final quarter.
Hiedeman buried a trey to make it 79-61 before Seattle’s late charge.
In the first half, Loyd made five 3-pointers and had 22 points as Seattle led 48-45 at the break. Bonner had 14 in the half for Connecticut.
–Field Level Media
