UNCASVILLE, Conn.—DeWanna Bonner led five Connecticut starters in double figures with 16 points as the Sun beat the visiting Los Angeles Sparks 79–70 Tuesday night, June 18, for its fourth straight win.
Bonner shot 6-of-12 from the floor and also grabbed seven rebounds for Connecticut, which improved its 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.
She had played 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 did not return to the game, had been named last week to Team USA’s 3x3 team for the upcoming Summer Olympics.
The Sun went on a 12–4 run early in the second quarter to build a 10-point lead. Carrington had four points and an assist, in addition to some stellar defending, during that stretch.
By halftime, Connecticut led by 11 and had forced 15 Los Angeles turnovers while also allowing the Sparks to make just 1 of 6 shots from 3-point range.
Sparks leading scorer Dearica Hamby was held scoreless 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. Connecticut led wire-to-wire and went on to take an advantage of 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.
