Sun 93, Storm 83: Dominant fourth quarter ends 10-game losing streak

The script looked eerily and frustratingly familiar Wednesday morning for the Connecticut Sun as Skylar Diggins was doing circles around them as the Seattle Storm raced to a 27-13 lead late in the first quarter. 

Even as the Sun made a nice run in the second quarter, well they’ve done that before recently only to get blown out in the second half, too. 


Then the fourth quarter started, and the Sun - yes, the same team whose analytical numbers look to be careering toward one of the worst in the history of the WNBA - absolutely dominated Seattle 93-83, a team which championship aspirations who had just easily beaten the defending champions in their own building Sunday.


One game is only 2.3% of a season, of course, and Connecticut could still become one of the worst teams in league annals yet, but it’s been a looong time since we’ve seen something that positive out of the Sun, and it was an absolute blast to watch, hopefully all those kids in the stands enjoyed themselves.


When given life, the Sun showed they were more than hungry, they were starving after losing 10 straight. Tina Charles said afterward, “I don’t know how many games I have left,” which is a bit ominous, but she was the best player on the court after struggling through the last couple of weeks. Youngsters Leila Lacan, Saniya Rivers, Jacy Sheldon, and Aneesah Morrow all took turns making big plays and giving for the future.


The Sun have to travel to Seattle to play a surely angry Storm squad 48 hours (or so) from now, and who knows what will happen? But, as I wrote after the last win (more than a month ago), don’t forget to sing when you win, especially in a season like this. 


Wednesday was an awesome day to be a Sun fan. 


What else can we take forward for the rest of the season?:




 

  1. Leila Lacan might change everything  - Again, there will be growing pains, lots of them, but the Sun started with Sheldon on Diggins, and - predictably from the first meeting - it didn’t come close to working. So they went to Bria Hartley (who kept the Sun in the game with her first-half shooting), but that wasn’t going to work, either. Connecticut allowed just nine points in the fourth quarter, and Diggins was completely stymied with Lacan guarding her. It allowed Saniya Rivers to help and wreak havoc, and left the Storm completely discombobulated and frustrated. Lacan also got a couple of driving layups and she has shown she can shoot elsewhere, so hopefully that will come as well.

  2. Let Jacy cook - That’s what I titled the preview, partly as a joke, but Sheldon took just one shot in the entire first half. But finally (maybe because Lacan found her a couple times), Sheldon started to fire at will, hitting two three-pointers in the third quarter and a couple more huge ones down the stretch to put the game away. It was arguably (maybe not arguably) the Sun’s best offensive performance of the season (see Inside the Numbers) and - especially without Marina Mabrey - any success the Sun have on offense is probably going to involve Sheldon.

  3. Lineups going forward -  Olivia Nelson-Ododa did not start the second half (and appeared to be in the locker room for some reason), but the lineup Rachid Meziane rode with down the stretch was Lacan, Rivers, Sheldon, Charles, and Nelson-Ododa. That leaves Hartley and Morrow out, but it’s hard to say he should have done anything different given the results, and every game is different. It also begs the question with who Marina Mabrey replaces when she returns (which could be Sunday), but at least there are options now for Meziane. Nelson-Ododa, like Lacan, was outstanding defensively down the stretch.


Player of the game:  Tina Charles - Lacan deserves special mention for what she did against Diggins down the stretch, but Charles had 29 points and 11 rebounds, hitting big shot after big shot in the second half, the 42nd time in his career she has had 25 and 10, which is the most in league history.


Inside the numbers : 1.17 -  Number of points per possession for the Sun without Mabrey against one of stingiest defenses in the league, a number which surely was better in the second half when they scored 52 points. Some of that was getting out and running in transition, but being solid on offense clearly helped their confidence down the stretch. 


Under the radar: Ezi Magbegor is usually not a big offensive threat for Seattle, and Connecticut scouted the Storm that way, but in the chess game, Noelle Quinn countered with Magbegor faking a few handoffs and going to the rim herself, which led to the big run in the first quarter. But it was a bit of fool’s gold, once the Sun adjusted, the Storm were soon forced outside and finished 6-for-25 from behind the arc. We’ll see what both teams come up with Friday.


Quotable:  “We can see that when we play with energy and intensity, and some consistency, we are capable of competing against one of the best teams in the league. I am proud of my team today.” - Rachid Meziane


Next up: Friday at Seattle, 10 p.m. EDT



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