UNCASVILLE — As Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier hit one incredible shot after another at Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, frustration from the Connecticut Sun became increasingly palpable in the 90-81 loss.
After falling to 2-1 in the WNBA semifinal series, Connecticut superstar Alyssa Thomas was blunt. She felt the root of Connecticut’s struggles had nothing to do with scheme or on-court adjustments; The team just didn’t want it badly enough.
“We didn’t come to compete. It didn’t matter what we were in defensively, you’ve got to look in the mirror,” Thomas said. “At this point nobody is going to hand you anything, so if we’re not going to go out there and compete, this is the result.”
The Sun had more offensive production than they had in any other game of the series, led by a postseason-high 21 points from All-Star center Brionna Jones. The entire starting lineup finished with at least 13 points, but after holding Minnesota under 80 in every regulation-time matchup this year, Connecticut’s signature staunch defense crumbled. The Sun had allowed more than 90 points just twice previously this season, and the Lynx’s 57.4% shooting from the field was a Connecticut franchise record for the highest percentage allowed in a playoff game.
Collier, who the Sun held under 20 points in Games 1 and 2, exploded for 26 plus 11 rebounds in Friday’s victory. Former Sun guard Courtney Williams, who averaged 11 points per game for the Lynx in the regular season, has scored at least 16 in both of Minnesota’s semifinal wins.
“The important thing for us is we’ve got to make them make two or three passes to exploit it, not just one, and we weren’t disruptive enough to do that,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “And (Collier) really went to work. I felt like she was much more aggressive in this game, hunting those opportunities, than she was in Game 1 and Game 2.
“But the reality is, when you’re talking about an MVP-caliber player, you’re not going to stop them. You’ve just gotta try to make it difficult … but we can’t let everybody else go off. We’ve got to contain everybody else. We can’t allow four players in double figures, because they’re too dangerous of a team when that happens,”
Thomas and the Sun as a whole have been vocal all season about the underdog mentality that comes with playing in Connecticut. Even in their Game 2 loss to Minnesota, the team looked hungry. They fought for a fourth-quarter comeback, outscoring the Lynx 21-19 to get the deficit within seven at the final buzzer. But in their return to Mohegan Sun Arena with a chance to take control of the series on Friday, Connecticut played like a completely different team than the one that has shown up throughout the rest of the playoffs.
“We’ve got to realize that we didn’t get here by ourselves,” Thomas said. “We got here as a team by moving the ball and picking people apart … We’re not going to get over the hump without using each other. This was a poor display of what Connecticut basketball is about. To come out with an aggressive defensive plan and only get three steals is unacceptable. We have to go back to the drawing board, and we have to play people that are going to come out and do their job.”
Rediscovering the hard-nosed style that defines Sun basketball starts with Thomas and DeWanna Bonner as the team’s veteran leaders, but the X-factor for Connecticut is undoubtedly Marina Mabrey. The Sun traded for the sharpshooter at the Olympic break in July in hopes that she could be the piece that allowed them to truly contend for a WNBA championship in 2024, and she has lived up to those expectations plenty in the postseason. But though Mabrey tied her career high with six 3-pointers in the Sun’s Game 1 win over Minnesota, she went just 2-for-11 beyond the arc on Friday.
Mabrey almost certainly won’t shoot that poorly twice in a row, but it’s also apparent that Sun guard Tyasha Harris, who was the team’s No. 2 3-point threat for most of the season, still isn’t ready to handle her usual workload after suffering an ankle injury in the first-round series. White said pregame that she felt Harris looked better in practice between Games 2 and 3, but the point guard played just five minutes on Friday and struggled uncharacteristically to keep up on defense. Without a consistent second option, the pressure is on for Mabrey to be nearly perfect — especially with elimination on the line.
“I think it’s the edge, the competitive spirit, the competitive fire,” White said. “She fits the mentality of this team and this franchise. She’s a competitor, and she has a lot of self-awareness, so understanding that the game plan is to be physical with her and she’d got to be able to respond to that is a big step. Her being open and willing to do it is the other thing. She’s a worker … She wants to get better. Having that mindset and, not just her shot-making, but her tough shot-making ability is important for us.”
How to watch
Site: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville
Team records: Sun 31-14; Lynx 34-11
Time: 5 p.m., Sunday
Last meeting: 90-81, Lynx; Oct. 4 in Uncasville
TV: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN+
