Cold-shooting Sky fall at ConnecticutSun-Times wireson June 27, 2021 at 11:23 pm

Quigley and Copper scored 11 points apiece to lead the Sky, whose win streak ended at seven

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — DeWanna Bonner hit four three-pointers and finished with 23 points, Brionna Jones added 21 points and nine rebounds, and the Connecticut Sun cruised to a 74-58 win over the Sky on Sunday in a Commissioner’s Cup game, snapping the Sky’s seven-game win streak.

The Sun limited the Sky to their lowest scoring output of the season on 33.3% (23 of 69) shooting overall and 20.6% (5 of 24) from three-point range. Connecticut had nine steals and forced 18 turnovers.

‘‘Offensively, we didn’t score, we didn’t move the ball, we turned it over, and those are all kind of the recipe to get the result that we got,’’ Sky guard Allie Quigley said.

‘‘[The Sun are] kind of known for defense and being physical, and we just didn’t match it.’’

Courtney Vandersloot, Kahleah Copper and Quigley each made a three-pointer in an 11-0 run to close the second quarter and Vandersloot’s pull-up jumper to open the third trimmed the Sky’s deficit to 36-32. Bonner answered with a three, Jones hit two free throws and Bonner added another from behind the arc before Jones made a layup to cap a 10-0 run, and Connecticut led by double figures the rest of the way.

Quigley and Copper scored 11 points apiece to lead the Sky (9-8). Candace Parker added six points and four rebounds in 26 minutes.

The Sky had lost seven in a row before their win streak, which included 85-79 and 91-81 home wins over Connecticut on June 17 and June 19, respectively.

‘‘We didn’t execute schemes that we had in place,’’ Sky coach James Wade said. ‘‘We have to start off at a better rhythm. It’s three games in a row that we played against them that we thought we could get back in the game. The first two games we were able to, but this game, they didn’t allow us to, because they dictated the pace. We have to be more determined in who we are.’’

Jasmine Thomas had 18 points and three steals and Beatrice Mompremier grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds for Connecticut (10-5).

The Sun are the third team in the WNBA to reach double digits in wins this season, joining the league-leading Seattle Storm (12-3) and the Las Vegas Aces (10-4).

Connecticut improved to an Eastern Conference-leading 5-1 in the Commissioner’s Cup standings while the second-place Sky dropped to 6-3. Seattle leads the Western Conference at 5-0.

Each team plays 10 Commissioner’s Cup games, finishing on July 10, with the top team from each conference playing a championship game in August for the cup title and a prize totaling approximately $500,000.

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