Sun-Aces Preview
In the case of the Connecticut Sun, it doesn't matter how they got here, just that they're here. Here, being the WNBA semifinals, where the Sun will try to take a 2-0 lead over the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. No. 7 seed Connecticut lost its first five games of 2020 and took a 10-12 record into the playoffs. That hasn't mattered to the Sun, who opened the postseason with a 94-81 win over Chicago and followed with a 73-59 triumph against third-seeded Los Angeles. Connecticut then tipped off this series with an even more impressive 87-62 rout on Sunday. Jasmine Thomas had a career-high 31 points as the Sun hit half of their 68 shot attempts while holding the Aces to 33.8 percent shooting overall and a dismal 1 of 14 from beyond the 3-point arc. Connecticut also outrebounded Vegas 39-29 to pull off the upset in the opener of this best-of-five series. While DeWanna Bonner (eight points, eight rebounds on Sunday) and Alyssa Thomas (18 points, five assists, five steals on Sunday) have paced Connecticut most of the season, Jasmine Thomas was the star Sunday. She went 13 of 18 from the field and essentially took over the game. "It's fun to coach players when they get that way. Doing the best at what they do," Sun coach Curt Miller said about Jasmine Thomas' effort. "When they find that zone it's really special to watch from the sideline and just kind of stay out of their way." While the Sun hope to keep the good times rolling, Vegas must find a way to rebound from its first loss since Sept. 1. Jasmine Thomas expects the Aces to be at their best for Game 2. "We know that Vegas is a great team," she told ESPN. "There's a reason they're No. 1. They have great players over there and great coaching. They'll make adjustments, and we've got to be ready to stay focused and play just as hard and tough next game." One of those great players on the Aces is MVP A'ja Wilson, who was the only Las Vegas starter to score in double figures with 19 on Sunday. Jackie Young did score 17 off the bench, but the Aces were outscored by 14 during a rather decisive third quarter en route to being held to their lowest-scoring contest of the season. "I think we needed to get beat," Wilson also told ESPN. "(Connecticut) worked 10 times harder than we did, and we needed that slap in the face. We have to go back to the drawing board and see what went wrong, what we can improve on and go from there. The best thing about this loss is there's a lot of things we can control, and that's what we're going to do." Las Vegas has not lost back-to-back games at all in 2020. |