DeWanna Bonner delivered a standout performance, scoring a game-high 23 points with an impressive 7-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc, to propel the Connecticut Sun to an 80-67 triumph over the Atlanta Dream on Sunday in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Tiffany Mitchell contributed 13 points off the bench for the Sun, who notched their third consecutive win, tying the New York Liberty for the league’s best record at 17-4. Brionna Jones added 11 points, and Alyssa Thomas recorded seven points, seven rebounds, and a game-high nine assists.
For the Dream, Allisha Gray led with 19 points, followed by Tina Charles with 13 points. Nia Coffey scored 11 points, while Laeticia Amihere grabbed a team-high eight rebounds off the bench. The Dream’s loss extended their losing streak to four games, dropping them to 7-13.
Atlanta faced an 11-point deficit early in the third quarter but managed to cut it to 37-30 after free throws by Gray and a layup by Charles at the 8:24 mark. Connecticut widened the gap to 12 points with two free throws from DiJonai Carrington, but a three-pointer from Charles brought the Dream within nine points at 48-39 with 5:05 left in the third.
The Sun then pulled ahead 57-45 and unleashed an 8-0 run, including two three-pointers from Bonner, to seize a commanding 65-45 lead, prompting an Atlanta timeout with just under a minute remaining in the third.
With seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, Bonner hit her seventh three-pointer, giving the Sun their largest lead of the game at 72-52.
In the first quarter, the Sun led 14-11 before Bonner and Nia Coffey exchanged three-pointers. Bonner hit another triple, but a layup from Gray trimmed Atlanta’s deficit to 20-16 by the end of the first quarter. The second quarter saw a scoring drought until Brionna Jones’ layup at the 6:24 mark.
The Sun, leading by four with 4:54 left in the second quarter, went on an 8-0 run capped by Bonner’s three-pointer to secure a 32-20 advantage. Brionna Jones and Haley Jones traded jumpers to close the first half, with the Sun ahead 34-24. The Dream managed only eight points in the second quarter.
Bonner paced the Sun with 11 first-half points, while Gray and Coffey each tallied nine points for Atlanta.
