Connecticut Sun open WNBA playoffs with blowout win, eliminating Sky

The Connecticut Sun came out firing on all cylinders in the first game of the WNBA playoffs, completely overpowering and eliminating the Chicago Sky.

The Connecticut Sun came about as close as you can to a title last season, losing to the Washington Mystics 89-78 in Game 5 of last year’s best-of-five WNBA Finals. The plan was to take improve the roster and take that next and final step and a February trade for DeWanna Bonner and Briann January seemed like the move that might do it.

And then the coronavirus pandemic hit, warping the 2020 season and removing centerpiece Jonquel Jones, who finished third in voting for MVP and Defensive Player of the Year last season but who opted out of the #Wubble for health reasons. The Sun took a step back, falling to the No. 7 seed and facing a single-elimination game against the Chicago Sky to open the playoffs. But they responded like the champions they hoped they’d be this year.

The Sun used a huge third quarter, outscoring the Sky 27-11, to turn a tight game into a 94-81 blowout. Bonner, who led the team in scoring during the regular season, put up 23 points but Alyssa Thomas was the engine for Connecticut. She finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists, shooting 52.6 percent from the field, just overpowering Chicago with her energy and physicality.

The offensive engine for the Sky, Courtney Vandersloot, had a tough game. She led the league in assists during the regular season but totaled just six against the Sun, watching her teammates miss some tough shots that they’d made been making in the regular season.

What’s next for the Connecticut Sun?

The reward for tonight’s win is exactly one day off and then another single-elimination challenge against either the Minnesota Lynx or the Los Angeles Sparks, depending on who wins the Mystics-Mercury matchup later tonight. Either team presents a stiff challenge, the Sun went winless against both during the abbreviated regular season. That game will be played Thursday night and broadcast on ESPN2.