Sun improve to 13-1 while Sparks lose Cameron Brink to injury

Field Level Media|published: Tue 18th June, 21:22 2024

Oct 2, 2020; Bradenton, Florida, USA; A game ball waits on a sanitation cart during game 1 of the WNBA finals between the Las Vegas Aces and the Seattle Storm at IMG Academy. Mandatory Credit: Mary Holt-USA TODAY Sports

DeWanna Bonner led five Connecticut starters in double figures with 16 points as the Sun beat the visiting Los Angeles Sparks 79-70 for their fourth straight win on Tuesday night in Uncasville, Conn.

Bonner shot 6-of-12 from the floor and also grabbed seven rebounds for the Sun, who improved their WNBA-leading record to 13-1. Tyasha Harris added 14 points, Brionna Jones chipped in 13, DiJonai Carrington scored 12 and Alyssa Thomas piled up 11 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

Aari McDonald paced the Sparks (4-11) with 14 points, while rookie Rickea Jackson tallied 10 points and seven rebounds and Li Yueru scored 11 points off the bench.

Los Angeles lost a key contributor early in the game as Cameron Brink had to be helped off the floor after suffering what appeared to be a knee injury after playing just four minutes. Brink, the No. 2 overall pick in this year's WNBA draft out of Stanford, had been averaging 8.1 points and 5.7 rebounds, and her 2.5 blocks per game ranked third in the league. Brink, who never returned to the game, had just been named to Team USA's 3x3 team for the Summer Olympics last week.

The Sun went on a 12-4 run early in the second quarter to build a 10-point lead over the Sparks. Carrington had four points and an assist in that stretch in addition to some stellar defending.

By halftime, Connecticut led by 11 and had turned Los Angeles over 15 times while also allowing the Sparks to make just 1 of 6 3-point attempts.

Sparks leading scorer Dearica Hamby was held to zero points in the first half as she attempted just one field goal in 16 minutes. She finished the night with eight points and three assists after seeing an offensive uptick in the second half.

Still, that wasn't enough for the Sparks to close the gap with the Sun. Connecticut led wire-to-wire and went on to take an advantage by as many as 19 points.

The Sun outscored the Sparks 50-32 in the paint, and Connecticut scored 30 points off 24 Los Angeles turnovers.

--Field Level Media

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