The Connecticut Sun took a surprising edge against Chicago Sky and claimed a remarkable 68-63 victory in Game 1 of their five-match semi-final series.
Sun registered their first victory after going 0-4 in the regular season.
The Sun established the mood right away and was able to keep the Sky off balance for the most of the night. The Sun were able to change it from a beautiful game into a brawl that depended on defense, physicality, and effort. Although the Sun had the advantage for the majority of the game, they were unable to pull ahead, and the only way they could have won was for Candace Parker to miss the ball in the last seconds.
DeWanna Bonner, who led the Sun with 15 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals, had a difficult night making shots but still excelled in all other areas of the game. Jonquel Jones and Brionna Jones each scored 12 points, and Alyssa Thomas added 12 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists for a close to triple-double.
Chicago was led by the outstanding play of Candace Parker, who ranks among the league’s best players ever. Her stat line was 19 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 6 blocks. She became the first player in league history with at least 15 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists despite narrowly missing out on a lauded 5×5 performance.
Sun finally takes over the sky
Without a doubt, the Sun impacted how Game 1 was played. The Sun is completely fine with the fact that nobody will ever use it as a sports commercial. They just care about winning, and on Sunday night, they succeeded in doing so.
Their defensive pressure forced more errors, rushed shots, and wasted possessions from the Sky than you would have seen in an entire week from the reigning champions during the regular season, keeping the Sky off-balance the whole game. As a result, the Sun limited the Sky to 63 points on 35.3 percent field goal shooting, their second-worst shooting effort of the season.
Candace Parker’s supremacy
Parker’s contribution was phenomenal as she is one of the best players the league has ever seen. She contributed 19 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, four steals, and six blocks. At some time, she played like a lone fighter for the sky. It was difficult to believe her potential game-tying 3-pointer in the waning seconds didn’t fall because she was everyone on both ends of the field. After this game, The Sky will likely be furious with themselves for a variety of reasons, but the main one may be that they wasted a Parker master class.
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