The Connecticut Sun locked up a home playoff game Friday night, rolling to a 96-79 victory over the Minnesota Lynx at Mohegan Sun Arena. When the game ended, the Sun (20-13) were guaranteed to be no lower than the sixth seed, which would mean a single-elimination home game on Tuesday.
Jonquel Jones led the Sun with 26 points, tying her career-high with five made threes. She is now 18 of 23 from the field, 9-of-13 from three-point range, averaging 26.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the last two games.
Alyssa Thomas (18 points, eight rebounds, eight assists) had another close call, flirting with her first career triple-double while Courtney Williams (13 points, eight rebounds) and Layshia Clarendon (14 points, five assists) contributed to another big offensive night for Connecticut.
The Sun had 25 assists on 35 made field goals, setting new single-season franchise records in both categories. Connecticut now has 644 assists and 1,112 made field goals. The old franchise marks were 630 assists in 2006 and 1,098 made field goals last year. The Sun also posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2011-12 while completed a 3-0 sweep of the defending champion Minnesota Lynx.
The Sun trailed 46-43 at halftime but were sparked by Alyssa Thomas, who had 12 points, five rebounds and two assists while shooting 5-of-6 from the floor in the third quarter as Connecticut opened a 72-67 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Clarendon, who had her best night in a Sun uniform, started a 9-0 run to begin the fourth quarter with a layup. She also had a pair of free throws while Jones knocked down a three-pointer.
It was 81-67 with 6:48 left, and the Lynx did not get closer than 11 the rest of the way.
Minnesota (17-16) scoring was led by Sylvia Fowles with 25 points.
The Sun close out the regular season on Sunday, August 19th at Mohegan Sun Arena with a game against the Los Angeles Sparks. The Lynx host the Washington Mystics in Minnesota also on August 19th.
Listen to the post-game press conference with Connecticut Sun Head Coach Curt Miller.
See photos from the game below, or visit the gallery here for full-size images.
Just Shooting Hoops 