Alyssa Thomas, Sun fall to Lynx: “This was a poor display of what Connecticut basketball is about”

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Normally, Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White begins her opening statement at the podium with some iteration of: “I’m proud of our group.”

But, after the Sun’s 90-81 loss to the Minnesota Lynx, White took a different tune.

“That was a tough one for us,” White said. “They got to do pretty much whatever they wanted to on the offensive end of the floor. I feel like we didn’t do a good enough job, as coaches, in preparing us to play today. We got outplayed, we got out-executed, and we got out-coached.”

In Game 3, the Lynx shot 57.4% from the field, setting a new record for the highest field goal percentage that the Sun have let up in franchise postseason history. Napheesa Collier, who averaged just 14 points in the first two games of the series, scored 26 points on 11-26 shooting.

“There was no one more frustrated after the last few games than Phee,” said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve. “I thought she was terrific in every aspect of the game.”

And while Collier putting up 26 points is not out of the ordinary — she had 38 and 42-point outings in the first round — White and the Sun didn’t feel like they gave Collier their best shot.

“When you’re talking about an MVP caliber player, you’re not going to stop them,” White said. “You’re just going to try to make it difficult. Did we make it as difficult as we could have? No.”

White also noted they didn’t take away the others: Courtney Williams added 16 points on 7-10 shooting, Kayla McBride 13 points, and Bridget Carleton points 2. In turn, the Lynx exploded for 90 points — more than 16 points more than their season average of 73.6 points allowed.

“We can’t let everybody else go off. We’ve got to contain everybody else,” White said. “We can’t allow four players in double-figures. They’re too dangerous of a team when that happens. So, we’ve got to do a better job collectively of making sure that we make things difficult. We’ve got to do a better job on everybody else, too.”

Alyssa Thomas expressed her disappointment with the team’s effort — and apparent shift away from team basketball — at the podium.

“I think we got to realize that we didn’t get here by ourselves. We got here as a team, and moving the ball, and picking people apart,” Thomas said. “At this point, yeah you want it — but we’re not going to get over the hump without using each other. This was a poor display of what Connecticut basketball is about.”

For the Sun, Brionna Jones led the way with 21 points on 8-13 FG, while DeWanna Bonner added 16 points on 4-9 shooting. Thomas added 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists.

But, the starting backcourt struggled offensively: Marina Mabrey scored 14 points, but shot just 1-11 from three, while DiJonai Carrington posted 13 on 6-15 shooting.

Still, it was the defense — Connecticut’s hallmark — that let them down, above everything else.

“To come out with an aggressive defensive plan, and to only get three steals, it’s unacceptable,” Thomas said. “We got to go back to the drawing board, and we got to play people that are going to come out and be ready to fight.”

The Sun now trail the Lynx 2-1 heading into Game 4. A loss would send them home in the semi-finals for the second consecutive year, while a win would tie things up heading back to Minneapolis.

“Big time players show up when their backs are against the wall,” Thomas said. “A lot of us have been in this position before and have come out of it.”

But, they are still alive. The Las Vegas Aces were similarly frustrated after a letdown Game 2, and responded with a blowout win to stay alive in Game 3.

“If you want your season to continue, you want to make it to the Finals, you got to give it everything you got,” Thomas said, matter-of-fact. “That’s what the playoffs are all about.”