Sun @ Storm preview: You again?

So the Sun’s reward for a dominant second half against Seattle to end a 10-game losing streak and post one of the biggest upsets this WNBA season?

Saniya Rivers and Aneesah Morrow celebrate the Sun's win Wednesday (Erica Denhoff / Getty Images)
A meeting with a surely angry Storm on their home court (on the other side of the country) a little more than 48 hours later? Such is life in the WNBA scheduling world, and it means repeating their defensive wizardry will be extremely difficult against the same opponent.


But there seems to be some things Connecticut can build on from Wednesday, particularly the defensive combo of Leila Lacan and Saniya Rivers that absolutely wreaked havoc against one of the most experienced teams in the league. It will be interesting to see how Noelle Quinn and her staff adjusts; do they chalk it up to just a rough second half in front of thousands of screaming kids, or do we see significant adjustments.


Of course, the bigger issue may have been at the other end of the floor where the Sun scored a season-high 93 points, 52 in the second half. Connecticut did it by getting out and running when it could (including getting a couple of open threes in transition) and using Tina Charles to do much of everything else inside.


This is the same Sun team, though, who were blown out in Seattle two weeks ago and have posted a trio of 35-point losses on the road in the last month (and a couple of others that were close). But have they turned the corner, or at least started to turn the corner, maybe at least moved the steering wheel? A good performance on the road might do a lot for confidence with the All-Star break looming.


What else can we look for Friday night, which might see the return of Marina Mabrey (she’s questionable)?:


SUN @ SEATTLE STORM


Time: Friday, 10 p.m. EDT


Place: Climate Pledge Arena; Seattle, Wash.


Records: Connecticut 3-16; Seattle 12-8


TV: ION, WNBA League Pass


Line: Seattle -17.5


Absences: Connecticut - Marina Mabrey (questionable, knee); Jaelyn Brown (questionable, illness).

Seattle - Lexie Brown (questionable, illness).


History between them: How about, say, Wednesday, when the Sun broke a 10-game losing streak. Obviously Seattle won the first meeting this year in Seattle. The home team won all three matchups last season, but the Sun had won 6 straight in the series before that. The only time they met in the WNBA playoffs was the 2004 finals, with the Storm winning in three games behind MVP Betty Lennox.


What to look for: Tina Charles finished with 29 points Wednesday and took 22 shots to get there, the next highest was Saniya Rivers (who played a career-high 34 minutes) with nine, so Seattle will know the Sun’s offense will likely run through Charles, although playing as much basketball as she has and dealing with a shoulder injury, it would be nice for Connecticut to have a little more diversity. I’m not going to beg Jacy Sheldon to shoot more again (and she was key in the comeback Wednesday), but it could mean more offense from Aneesah Morrow, who will have trouble with the size of Nneka Ogwumike, let alone Ezi Magbegor and Dominique Malonga.


The Storm’s fourth quarter on offense was quite baffling as they were just 3-for-14 from the field, with the only make outside of two feet being a Skylar Diggins pull-up in the closing minutes. They were 0-for-6 from behind the arc, but just 3-for-7 on layups (with Olivia Nelson-Ododa blocking two). Given the inability of the Sun to stop anyone in the fourth quarter (with the exception of their win over Atlanta in early June), it was quite stunning. Obviously, the one big difference personnel wise is the addition of Leila Lacan, who finished a ridiculous +19 in just 19 minutes. She won’t do that every night, will she? 


Key players:  Connecticut: Tina Charles - Charles knew she would have to deal with some losing this season, but you can tell how much she hates it and with a chance to end the losing streak, she was everywhere in the fourth quarter Wednesday. But to have that energy again for 40 minutes every night at the age of 36 is difficult, so we’ll see how she’s feeling early Friday night.


Seattle: Gabby Williams - The WNBA’s steals leader had just one on Wednesday and was surprisingly quiet as the Sun started to take over in the second half. She did score 21 points on 9-for-14 from the field and was rolling until everything unraveled in the fourth quarter.


Advanced stat:  30.6 - Average age of the Storm (even with Dominique Malonga), the oldest team in the WNBA at the moment. Connecticut is currently the third youngest behind Dallas and Washington.


Tactical spotlight: Seattle started the game Wednesday by allowing Ezi Magbegor - not usually a big offensive threat - go to work, really confusing the Sun. And until the fourth quarter, Seattle was on pace to score 100 points, but led by Rivers and Lacan, a switch was turned. Diggins found herself unable to penetrate and was even forced to retreat a couple of times, and no one else could make shots, even when open. Obviously if the Storm (who don’t take a lot of threes) start making everything, things will be different.


If Mabrey plays, the Sun’s offense will change plenty, but replicating the energy Connecticut was able to produce in the second half will be difficult. Sheldon and Bria Hartley combined to shoot 7-for-11 from three-point range, which will also be tough to replicate, but Sheldon has been among the best shooters in the league the last few games, and Lacan got her some looks in the fourth quarter, even with the Storm knowing what was coming.


Inside the numbers: 6- Minutes Dominique Malonga played on Wednesday, which was in stark contrast to Lacan getting 19. Seattle has been careful with bringing Malonga along slowly, but this might be a spot where she gets an extended run.


Prediction: 84-72 Seattle

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