Sun 84, Dream 76: Mabrey stars, but team effort in victory

Olivia Nelson-Ododa left Friday’s game with Atlanta midway through the second quarter with the Sun down 26-21 and seemingly without much of a clue, at least on the offensive end, as the game was playing out much like Connecticut’s lopsided loss to the Dream two weeks ago in Atlanta.

We certainly hope Nelson-Ododa returns (from an ankle injury) soon, she led Connecticut in advanced metric Win Shares, and was the only Sun player in positive territory in that category going into Friday’s contest. 

But without her, a long dormant offense came to life, and the end result was a somewhat comfortable 84-76 win over the formerly hot Dream. It’s a small step in a long season, but when you’re 11-point underdogs and lost your last game by 48 points, you’re damn right we’ll celebrate a little before focusing on Washington Sunday.

The plaudits will go mostly to Marina Mabrey, who scored 34 points in - if you read the preview - a game that should have set up well for her against a mediocre defense. But it was the manner in which Mabrey racked up her points, mostly getting to the rim, that was surprising and encouraging. And Tina Charles was all but unstoppable in the fourth quarter, finishing with 19 points.

However, this was a true team effort, from Kariata Diaby stepping up to hold the fort down in limited minutes, and - of course - the rookies: Saniya Rivers continuing her strong defensive play and Aneesah Morrow getting some big minutes down the stretch and coming through with a +12, even if her offensive numbers were limited.

While a long schedule awaits and the injuries continue to mount, this was a night for hope. And celebration. Don’t forget to sing when you win, after all.

What else did we learn from the Sun’s first home win of the season Friday night?:

 

1. Threes are nice and pretty, but… - The Sun entered Friday buried as the worst offensive team in the WNBA (0.917 points per possession), and although they were pretty poor from behind the arc, they were also shooting just 44.6% from two-point range (ahead of just Las Vegas). But they were 30-for-51 Friday (58.8%), led by Mabrey’s 10-for-14 and Charles going 8-for-12. Teams might adjust (and Washington actually has a much stingier defense overall), but the Dream were not doubling or stopping pressure and the Sun were happy to try to get to the rim. It might turn out to be a strength with the personnel they have, and although 1.05 ppp won’t set the world on fire, it is enough to win some games.

2. Kudos to Rivers, but also Bria Hartley - Reigning WNBA Player of the Month Allisha Gray was held to a (tie) season low 11 points in 38 minutes, and although Rivers was guarding her most of that time and deserves plenty of credit, for other parts, it was Bria Hartley, who hadn’t been in the league for a couple of years and has struggled defensively for much of the early season. But now fully in game shape, she has improved, and the Sun will need that level of defense going forward (Hartley also had 11 points and 6 assists).

3. Atlanta being at full strength didn’t help them -  Ironically, maligned Brittany Griner did well, tying for a team-high with 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting in 25 minutes. But Jordin Canada was 0-for-7 in her season debut, Te-Hina Paopao played only seven minutes, and even Brionna Jones got only seven points and six rebounds in 25 minutes. It didn’t look like Karl Smesko had a good handle on what his best rotations were, especially on offense, where the 76 points were a season low. A lot of the credit belongs to the Sun defense, too.

Player of the game:  Marina Mabrey - Remember, she was a -55 (darn, I promised I would never bring that up again) against New York last Sunday, so she certainly had something to prove and did in a big way with 34 points, most of them (she was 3-for-8 from three-point range, the Sun’s only makes from behind the arc) getting to the rim. And for the record, she was +8 in this one if you’re scoring at home.

Inside the numbers : 11 -  Number of turnovers by Connecticut, not outstanding, but certainly acceptable. As I mentioned in the preview, Atlanta is dead last in forcing turnovers, but much of the problems the Sun have had in close games down the stretch involved them getting pressured and turning over the ball, something that was not an issue in the final minutes, they got good looks almost every time down the floor.

Under the radar: With Nelson-Ododa out and Rayah Marshall not even dressed (ankle), Rachid Meziane had some tough choices heading into the fourth quarter. He started with Diaby at the 5, which Griner took advantage of to some extent, but Diaby at least held her own. But down the stretch, Meziane gambled with Charles at the 5 and Morrow at the 4, a move that paid huge dividends as the Dream could not take advantage inside. Is that something Meziane can look to long-term? Only time will tell.

Quotable:  "No one wants to lose a game like we did to New York. I think we came in and we got right to it, even in the first practice after our day off the coaches challenged us and we rose to the occasion. This league is very tough, games are going to be tough night in and night out, but as long as we keep growing and coming together with each game, we're going to be fine." - Bria Hartley

Next up: Sunday at Washington, 3 p.m.