After being forced into an elimination game, the Connecticut Sun stepped on the gas early against the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday.
The No. 3 seeded Sun opened up a 26-19 first quarter lead and didn’t look back en route to a 90-75 win in the winner-take-all Game 3. Connecticut advances to a semifinal matchup against the No. 2 Seed New York Liberty, while Minnesota’s season comes to a close.
The Sun win ensures that the top four seeds advance to the semifinal round. The No. 1 Las Vegas Aces will take on the No. 4 Dallas Wings in the other semifinal series.
The Lynx, whose secured an 82-75 win in Game 2 to force Game 3, never mounted a challenge on Wednesday. Connecticut went into halftime with a 49-34 lead and started the fourth quarter up, 65-49. Minnesota didn’t cut its deficit to single digits in the second half.
DeWanna Bonner played a co-starring role alongside Alyssa Thomas. The five-time All-Star filled up the stat sheet with 25 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, one steal and three blocks. Thomas, a four-time All-Star likewise added a substantial double-double of her own, posting 28 points, 12 assists, six rebounds and one steal. The point total is a playoff career-high for the 10th-year veteran
Things will get considerably tougher in the next round against a Liberty team featuring three All-Stars in Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot.
