The final adjustments the Sun need to make to win their first WNBA championship
The Connecticut Sun, once again, won a game they needed, and stand a single victory away from a WNBA title.
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“It’s what we’ve been working all season for. Everybody was counting us out, but we know what we can do. We’ve known what we can do. So now we’re here and now we’ve got to get one in D.C.,” said Courtney Williams.
While much of what I’ve already written about the series still rings true, from a strong first quarter, controlling the Mystics’ threes, to the need for Jonquel Jones‘ involvement, there are a few more different things that the Sun must do in order to win their first WNBA championship.
AT needs to continue doing what AT does
“The Engine” as she’s known in Connecticut has played all but 30 seconds of the series so far, 159.5 of a possible 160 minutes. That is 99.6875 percent.
“I really want a championship and I’m going to do whatever it takes, play as many minutes as I have to play to win a title,” said Alyssa Thomas.
At times it felt like she was pulling the rest of her team along to get them going. Of her 17 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, the nine most important points came from the free-throw line.
Thomas made just 49.6 percent of her free throws during the regular season but went 9-10 from the line Tuesday night. She’s missed just three free throws in the series, going 19-for-22.
If Thomas does not get tired, which based on her high level of success and determination to win a championship seems like the likely outcome, the Sun will be in the game, if only because of her.
Getting to the line, and making sure Washington does not, is going to be critical
Thomas was not the only player finding success at the free-throw line, the team as a whole went 23-for-26.
The Sun were able to not only limit their fouls overall but also the Mystics opportunities at line. Washington took half as many free throw attempts, going 10-13.
Curt Miller praised his team’s performance, saying “Ultimately we made a few more plays down the stretch, got to the foul line tonight more than they did. Alyssa Thomas was the best foul shooter in the game.”
If Connecticut is able to continue to control their fouls and make their free throws, it will help them combat the potent Mystics offensive attack.
Defense, Defense, Defense
After the Mystics game back to tie the game at 68 in the third quarter, the Sun knew their defense had to step up as the game clock ticked down.
“We talked about the whole second half, in all our huddles, whether it was in a timeout, we talked about defense and stops is what was going to win us the game,” said Jasmine Thomas.
Williams added, “Our teammates definitely challenged me personally and told me that regardless of what my offense is, I’ve still got to get after it on defense. So I think just keeping that mentality and knowing like, we’ve just got to play hard, I mean, our back was against the wall, so we had to get to it.”
There may not be a way to entirely stop the Mystics’ offense, however, if the Sun are able to make stops at critical times and control their runs, they will be holding a trophy Thursday night.
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