On Saturday night, the Minnesota Lynx were looking to get their 10th win to go a perfect 10-0 for the season. However, once a team is making headlines with an unblemished record a target quickly appears on that team. The Connecticut Sun were able to go into Minnesota and grab a 98-93 win in order to stop the Lynx's winning streak. Here's how Connecticut stunned the Lynx on Saturday to hand them their first loss of the season.
Game recap
While the two teams kept up with one another through the first three-quarters, Connecticut managed to pull away in the fourth.
Jonquel Jones gave the Sun an 81-79 lead on a jumper with 7-1/2 minutes to go in the game. Connecticut would extend that lead to eight, but Minnesota kept fighting. Eventually, a Maya Moore three-pointer cut it to 96-93 with just 21 seconds to go. After Jasmine Thomas had missed two free throw attempts, Moore had another chance at a three but missed the rim.
The Connecticut Sun got 20 points apiece from Alyssa Thomas and Jasmine Thomas. Alyssa's season high of 20 also helped her reach the 1,000-point mark for her career. She also recorded eight assists and eight rebounds in the victory, while Jasmine had six of each. All five Connecticut starters finished in double-digits for the victory which saw them shoot a blazing hot 55.4 percent from the floor as a team, and 45.5 percent from three-point range.
For the losing side, Maya Moore led her team with 22 points, four assists, and four rebounds. Lindsay Whalen added 15, while Seimone Augustus had 13 in the loss. Minnesota shot 51.4 percent for the game including 43.8 percent from downtown. However, the Sun outrebounded them by a staggering 36-21 margin and recorded nine blocks against the previously undefeated Lynx.
Standings and what's next
With the win, the Connecticut Sun move to a record of 5-5 overall and 3-3 away. They are currently sitting at No. 3 in the Eastern Division standings and tied record-wise with the Atlanta Dream. Connecticut's four-game winning streak is best in the WNBA at the moment. They'll look to make it five in a row when they visit the New York Liberty on June 23rd at 7:30 p.m.
Eastern Time.
The loss drops the Minnesota Lynx to 9-1. They still are the top team in the Western Division and several games ahead of the Los Angeles Sparks. They'll play the Washington Mystics at home on June 23rd at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. ESPN2 will carry the live televised coverage of the game.