Sun emerge with win over Paige Bueckers-less Wings

Rookie Leila Lacan matched her career high of 22 points and Tina Charles made a key bucket late as the visiting Connecticut Sun held off the short-handed Dallas Wings 101-95 on Wednesday.

Charles, who finished with 18 points, got open underneath for a jump hook with 22.2 seconds left to give Connecticut (10-28) a 97-93 lead.

Aziaha James made a layup with 18.6 seconds remaining to get Dallas (9-30) within two, but Marina Mabrey and Charles sealed the outcome by sinking two foul shots each.

Mabrey also finished with 18, while Anessah Morrow chipped in 11 points and 11 rebounds for Connecticut. Saniya Rivers hit for 11 points off the bench as the Sun scored 100 points for the first time this year. They sank 27 of 29 foul shots in earning their fourth win in five games.

Five players reached double figures for the Wings, led by James with 22 points. Myisha Hines-Allen came off the bench to score 18, while Maddy Siegrist added 15 points. Rookie Amy Okonkwo tallied a career-best 14 in a reserve role, and Haley Jones contributed 12 points.

Dallas canned 50.7 percent of its shots from the field but was outscored by 14 points at the foul line.

Already depleted by the absence of multiple players, including long-time star Arike Ogunbowale (knee), Dallas found out after warmups it would have to play without star rookie and leading scorer Paige Bueckers due to an illness.

The Wings still controlled the first quarter, punching inside and scoring at will. Hines-Allen drove for a layup with 24.6 seconds left to give the hosts a 30-21 advantage.

Dallas pushed the lead as high as 12 early in the second quarter before the Sun finally started stringing stops together and converting. Lacan's layup at the 1:39 mark gave Connecticut the lead for good, and Mabrey drained a long 3-pointer just before time expired for a 54-49 lead at the break.

The Sun gained more separation with a 29-point third quarter, getting a floater from Mabrey in the last minute to earn an 83-70 cushion going to the final 10 minutes.

--Field Level Media