Jonquel Jones and the Connecticut Sun will look to take control of their WNBA semifinal series when they visit Courtney Vandersloot and the Chicago Sky for Game 3 on Sunday afternoon.
After big Game 1 performances, both Jones and Vandersloot had off nights in the top-seeded Sun’s 79-68 win over the sixth-seeded Sky in Game 2 on Thursday to level the series at one victory apiece.
Jones, the WNBA MVP, finished with just four points on 2-of-9 shooting and seven rebounds. Vandersloot totaled 10 points, six assists and six turnovers.
In Chicago’s 101-95 double overtime Game 1 win, Jones scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed 11 boards and Vandersloot recorded the league’s second-ever postseason triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and a WNBA playoff-record 18 helpers.
Sun captain Alyssa Thomas helped pick up the slack as both she and DeWanna Bonner scored 15 apiece to pace Connecticut.
“I loved our want, I loved our will, and we played hard. When we weren’t perfect, we found a way to win,” Sun coach Curt Miller said. “Winning cures a lot of evils. It’s built our confidence back up, and now it’s a series.”
Sky regular-season leading scorer Kahleah Copper had 13 points for the second straight game to lead the team in Game 2 while veteran Candace Parker added 12 after scoring a team-high 22 in Game 1.
“I think I need to bring more energy,” Copper said about her slow start to the series. “I think we need to be a lot tougher out there, and it’s starts with me.”
Both teams aired public criticism of their travel accommodations to Chicago ahead of Game 3 after needing six commercial flights to reach their destination. Charter flights are generally not used for WNBA games as a cost-cutting measure.
–Field Level Media
