The Connecticut Sun’s goal is to keep on winning and there are various ways the team can do that.
So perhaps something new will be uncorked when the Chicago Sky visit on Sunday afternoon in Uncasville, Conn.
The Sun will be without forward Brionna Jones, who is out for the season with a ruptured right Achilles tendon. She had surgery Friday for the injury sustained in Tuesday’s win against the Seattle Storm.
Connecticut will move forward with the same mindset that has carried the club to an 11-3 start.
“For us, it’s about finding the right pieces,” Sun coach Stephanie White said.
The Sun have won three games in a row following Thursday’s 89-68 triumph against the Minnesota Lynx, their largest margin of victory this season.
In Jones’ absence, Tiffany Hayes gave Connecticut a boost with 21 points at Minnesota. That included a season-high four 3-pointers that contributed to the team’s season-high mark of 12 baskets from 3-point range.
Rebecca Allen moved into the starting lineup to replace Jones, who was second on the team in both scoring (15.9) and rebounding (8.2).
Meanwhile the Sky (5-8) are mired in a five-game losing streak after dropping both ends of a home-and-home set with the Washington Mystics. Three of the setbacks in the skid have come by margins of 13-plus points, including Thursday night’s 80-59 home loss to Washington.
“Traditionally, we have not played like that,” Sky coach James Wade said. “That was the first time I saw us feel sorry for ourselves and that’s just not good enough.”
What most concerns Wade, whose team was dinged by 29.5 percent shooting from the field, was the manner in which he witnessed the Sky come apart. Chicago trailed 25-9 after the first quarter.
“I don’t care that we lose or we win, it’s how,” Wade said. “That’s got to be the Chicago way, it’s how do we do it. If not (the Sky way), it’s just not good enough. We’ll be all right.”
Sunday’s game features the Eastern Conference’s first-place team against the last-place team. This is the first of four scheduled meetings between the teams this year.
–Field Level Media
