The Connecticut Sun Too Hot for the Phoenix Mercury
Brittney Griner wins tip off vs. CT Sun (Kyle Wescott/MyWSports)
As the WNBA season enters its final two weeks of the regular season, the Phoenix Mercury and the Connecticut Sun are both battling for playoff spots. On Friday, the two teams met at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut. The Phoenix came in at 13-14, winning their last three games and looking to get back to .500 with six games left to play. The Sun had a stunning upset of the Lynx last week and most recently dominated the San Antonio Stars 89-62. The Sun entered the game at 10-17 and one game out of the playoffs.
Two hours before game time, Connecticut announced that Head Coach Curt Miller would fill the role of General Manager for the 2017 season that will be vacated by the resignation of GM and Vice President Chris Sienko. Miller after the game called Sienko “one of the best GM’s in the league.” Miller noted the shared goals and the vision for the Sun between the two and even though Sienko is leaving, “I’m incredibly excited about the next chapter and the new role and excited to continue the goals that Chris and I shared.”
The 6,709 fans in attendance were eager for a fight from the beginning. The game marked the return of Kelsey Bone, who was traded from Connecticut to Phoenix in June. The fans let her know early that she was not welcomed back, as they rained boos during her pre-game introduction. However the fans did welcome the former UConn Husky, Diana Taurasi, with the loudest applause of the night.
(Kyle Wescott/MyWSports)
Brittney Griner and the Mercury came out hot, leading 13-7 just four minutes into the game with six points from Griner. The Sun however would not be intimidated by star power of the Mercury. Connecticut would go on a 16-3 run through the end of the first quarter to take a 23-16 lead behind the effort of Alex Bentley’s 10 points.
At the half, the Sun had taken advantage of eight steals and 12 Phoenix turnovers to put up 43 shots and extend the lead to 46-38. Griner led all scoring with 15 points, but Jasmine Thomas and Bentley both had 12 points to pace the Sun offense. The second quarter was filled with whistles as it seemed the referees were going to call a tight game. At the half, three Sun players had three fouls including Chiney Ogwumike and Bentley. The Mercury also had Taurasi and Marta Xargay with three fouls.
Due to three fouls in the first half, Ogwumike spent much of the first half on the bench and only scored two points. At the half Coach Miller talked to his team about the fouls, “the game plan is going well, I don’t have much to tell you, but quit fouling.” “We knew we wanted to be very aggressive, very physical, that’s just not the way the game was officiated” Ogumike added. The second half would be a different story for Chiney.
Similar to the first quarter, Griner came out hot, cutting the lead to five, 53-48. At 4:21 to go in the 3rd, Griner would be called for an offensive foul, her third personal on the night. Upset with the call, as she headed to her bench for the media timeout, she voiced her anger with the referee who in turn gave Griner a Technical Foul for her effort. After the timeout, the Sun went on another big run, outscoring the Mercury 15-2, giving the Sun the 68-54 edge at the end of the third quarter. Ogwumike chipped in 8 points in the third quarter.
Brittney Griner wins tip off vs. CT Sun (Kyle Wescott/MyWSports)
The 4th quarter was a very even back and forth 10 minutes. The Mercury would find flashes throughout the game, but with just one 3-point basket from Taurasi in the first half and just seven points total, the Sun defense was able to keep the Mercury offense “off guard.” According to Coach Miller, this was all part of the game plan, “The difference was our effort. We weren’t going to double a lot on Brittney, we knew she could have a monster night… but it helped us contain others. We thought we needed to keep moving them.” Griner would finish with 29 points, but there wasn’t enough support from the others to help the Mercury. Ogwumike scored 12 in the 4th to lead scoring (22) for the Sun. Similar to their previous wins over the Lynx and Stars, the Sun were able to spread the scoring to beat their opponent. Thomas added 18 points and Bentley chipped in with 16. “All of us are talented, all of us can score the basketball, we all work hard on the offensive and defensive end and that ball is going in for us, so it’s nice” Bentley said after the game.
Coach Miller after the game talked about playing 4 games in the last week, “They’re just warriors. We are fighting, scratching, and clawing for our playoff lives and we’re right there.” He believes that the team has really bonded together as the season has progressed, “there’s truly a belief, there’s a chemistry that you can feel, there’s a vibe in the locker room, when we play that hard every night we’ll be a tough out.”
Coach Miller was asked after the game why he changed from a white shirt at the press conference announcing him as General Manager to a pink shirt for the game. The Coach called on everyone to spread the word of the cause that he is taking part in. Coach Miller will be wearing Pink at every home game for the remainder of the season as part of the “Real Men Wear Pink Campaign.” Coach Miller became emotional when he explained that Breast Cancer has affected his family and the lives of many others and asked all to help raise awareness and funds for the fight against Breast Cancer.
Phoenix took a step in the wrong direction Saturday night falling to 13-15. The Phoenix head to New York to take on the Liberty Saturday. The Sun are now tied with the Seattle Storm for the final playoff spot. The Sun fly out to Minnesota to play the Lynx Sunday.
Follow Kyle Wescott on Twitter @MHSWescott
