Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner power Sun past Lynx in decisive Game 3 to advance to WNBA semifinals
After being forced into an elimination game, the Connecticut Sun stepped on the gas early against the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday.
The No. 3-seeded Sun opened up a 26-19 first-quarter lead and didn't look back en route to a 90-75 win in the winner-take-all Game 3. Connecticut advances to a semifinal matchup against the No. 2 seed New York Liberty, while Minnesota's season comes to a close.
The Sun win ensures the top four seeds advance to the best-of-five semifinal round, which begins Sunday. The No. 1 Las Vegas Aces will take on the No. 4 Dallas Wings in the other semifinal series. The Sun advance to the semifinal round of the playoffs for a fifth straight season.
The Lynx, who secured an 82-75 win in Game 2 to force Game 3, never mounted a challenge Wednesday. Connecticut went into halftime with a 49-34 lead and started the fourth quarter up 65-49. Minnesota didn't cut its deficit to single digits in the second half.
DeWanna Bonner played a co-starring role alongside Alyssa Thomas. The five-time All-Star filled up the stat sheet with 25 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, one steal and three blocks. Thomas, a four-time All-Star, added a substantial double-double of her own, posting 28 points, 12 assists, six rebounds and one steal. The point total is a playoff career-high for the 10th-year veteran.
The Sun dominated the box score in most major categories, posting a 55.4%-44.3% edge from the field and 45%-36.4% advantage from 3-point distance while out-rebounding the Lynx, 35-27.
Things will get considerably tougher in the next round against a Liberty team featuring Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot.
