Sun-Dream Preview
The Connecticut Sun were unable to immediately build on their first win of the season. At least they still feel some progress is continued to be made. Looking to rebound from another defeat, the Sun try to hand the Atlanta Dream a fifth consecutive loss on Monday night at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Connecticut (1-6) finally checked a box in the win column with a 91-68 rout of Dallas on Thursday. However, the Sun were brought back down to Earth with a 100-93 loss to Chicago on Saturday. Jasmine Thomas had 22 points while DeWanna Bonner and Kaila Charles each scored 15 as the Sun shot an impressive 55.6 percent, including 7 of 14 from 3-point range. However, they allowed Chicago to make just over 55 percent of its shot and succumbed to a 9-2 Sky run in the third quarter that kept them at arms' length the rest of the contest. Despite the results, the Sun are trying to keep a positive attitude while attempting to dig out of a hole they can't afford to get any deeper in this condensed season. "I feel like we're definitely making progress," Thomas said as posted on the Sun's official Facebook page. "You know, we're feeling better each game now. I think we're getting more confident and more comfortable in what we're doing." Connecticut took three of the four meetings from Atlanta (2-5) last season. The Dream have not won since July 31, when they took down New York 84-78. Yet, they've drawn plenty of attention due to the off-court issues involving co-owner and republican senator Kelly Loeffler and her stance opposing the Black Lives Matter movement. While the Dream have struggled on the court, rookie guard Chennedy Carter has been the talk of the "Wubble." She ranks among the WNBA leaders with 19.4 points per game, and dropped 35 during a 93-92 loss to Seattle on Thursday. However, Dallas did a solid job defending Carter during Atlanta's 85-75 loss on Saturday. Carter finished with 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting and showed her frustration by being whistled for a technical foul late in the game. The Dream shot 40.8 percent in the contest and were outscored 44-33 in the second half. "Still trying to build team chemistry," Courtney Williams, who scored 14 points Saturday, told the Dream's official website. "It's hard right now. We just gotta figure it out. We don't really have a choice." Atlanta's Betnijah Laney, who scored 16 against the Wings, is averaging a team-high 17.6 points on the season. |