UNCASVILLE, Conn. ― Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas did not mince words after Friday’s game.
“We didn’t come to compete,” Thomas said. “It didn’t matter what we were defensively, we got to look in the mirror and want it.
“At this point, nobody is going to hand you anything. If we’re not going to come out there and compete, this is the result.”
The Sun failed to string together the run they needed and fell to the Minnesota Lynx, 90 to 81 in Game 3 of the WNBA Playoff semifinals on Friday night.
The Sun will need to bounce back against the Lynx in Game 4 on Sunday, Oct. 6 as they hope to stave off elimination.
Napheesa Collier led the way for Minnesota with 26 points and 11 rebounds, supported by Courtney Williams with 16 points and eight assists.
The Lynx’s offense found its rhythm early and stayed hot until the final buzzer, finishing the game shooting 57.4% from the field.
Connecticut Sun coach Stephanie White blamed herself for not having the team prepared for the challenge facing the team ahead of Game 3.
“(Minnesota) got to do pretty much whatever they wanted to do on the offensive end of the court,” White said. “We didn’t do a good enough job as coaches preparing (our players) to play today – that’s on us. We got outplayed, we got out-executed (and) we got out couched.
“You’re playing with the opportunity to go to the WNBA Finals. We’ve got an opportunity still in front of us, (but) our back is against the wall (and) we know that we have to be better.”
Brionna Jones had a team-high 21 points, a welcome sight for the eighth-year veteran. Jones had yet to cross double-digits through the Sun’s first five playoff games this year, but her play on Friday kept Connecticut within striking distance throughout the game.
“It was just my mentality coming into this game,” Jones said of her performance. “I know I haven’t shown up for the last two games offensively, but just being able to get to my spots and demand the ball when I wanted it and my teammates found me and they make my life easy.”
Connecticut led briefly to open the game, but Minnesota soon went in front and did not let go of the lead the rest of the way, holding a seven-point advantage into the second quarter.
The Sun’s bench struggled mightily to create any offense and with Marina Mabrey having an off-night, Connecticut simply could not muster any momentum to kickstart a run.
“Some of them were good looks, it’s not very often that Marina (Mabrey) is going to go 1-for-11,” White said. “I felt like some of them were good looks, but I also felt like sometimes we didn’t make (Minnesota) work enough, didn’t get the ball from side to side enough (and) didn’t create for one another enough.”
The closest the Sun got to the Lynx was with 7:37 left to go in the second when DeWanner Bonner connected on her second three of the game, cutting the visitors’ lead to three.
But after a quick timeout, Collier pushed it back out to five with a driving layup before finding Kayla McBride on the next possession in the corner for a three. McBride was fouled on the play and completed the four-point play at the line to push the Lynx’s lead back out to nine.
From that point on, Minnesota’s lead never fell below seven points, maintaining firm control of the game until the final whistle.
