Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner have the identical routine for each house recreation.
After shootaround and media obligations, they exit to eat, simply the 2 of them, at an area restaurant known as When Pigs Fly. Thomas orders an omelet, and Bonner will get bacon and eggs.
Since being drafted in 2014, Thomas has spent her complete WNBA profession with the Solar. Bonner has been in Connecticut since 2020. Collectively they’ve constructed a franchise and a life, making the WNBA Finals in 2022 and getting engaged in 2023.
“Connecticut appears like house,” Thomas stated earlier than the playoffs began.
However Thomas and Bonner are conscious that when this season ends, the basketball side of their lives is more likely to change. The franchise they helped construct is at a turning level. Each shall be free brokers, and at 37, retirement is creeping up on Bonner.
“I wish to win. I’m outdated,” Bonner stated Sunday with amusing. “My timeline could be very, very slim.”
Brionna Jones and DiJonai Carrington will even be free brokers, making it unlikely the crew’s core will keep collectively.
The Solar performed like a crew with one thing to lose Sunday. After years of being shut, they nonetheless have title aspirations. That dream was on the road in Recreation 4, as Connecticut confronted elimination in opposition to the Lynx.
The Sun stayed alive, defeating the Lynx 92-82 and forcing a Recreation 5.
“I used to be going to depart all of it on the market,” Bonner stated. “This was do or die.”
The Solar trailed 50-43 on the half, however Bonner stated she felt assured in her crew. They’d been getting the seems to be they needed and enjoying laborious, she stated. All the things else would come.
“I don’t suppose anybody in that locker room was able to go their separate methods,” Bonner stated. “We get pleasure from being round one another, and we’ve been round one another for a very long time. We simply type of buckled down and stated, ‘That is it. There are 20 minutes left. Let’s put all of it on the market and see what occurs.’ ”
What occurred was a 49-32 run by Connecticut within the second half.
Bonner scored seven of her 18 factors within the third quarter to assist ignite the run, and the remainder of the Solar adopted swimsuit.
Ty Harris completed with 20 factors to steer Connecticut in scoring. She was 7 of 11 from the sphere and 4 of 5 from past the arc, offering a much-needed elevate from 3-point vary.
Harris didn’t play in Recreation 1 of the sequence after injuring her ankle within the first spherical in opposition to Indiana. She performed sparingly within the final two video games and didn’t file a degree.
After the harm, Marina Mabrey began in Harris’ place, and coach Stephanie White stated she wasn’t certain if it was the appropriate time to convey Harris again into the beginning lineup. The Solar teaching workers spent all of Saturday discussing the choice, however didn’t make the official alternative till round midnight.
“We knew we would have liked to get her [Harris] extra minutes,” White stated. “It’s not simple to be in that place getting back from harm after which coming off the bench. It wasn’t actually giving her the very best alternative for fulfillment.”
The swap labored, and Harris obtained her offense going early, scoring on a pull-up jumper with 7:29 left within the first quarter. She scored seven factors within the first half after which helped the Solar shut issues out within the second, when she actually heated up.
Harris hit two of her 4 3-pointers within the fourth quarter to shut out the sport.
“My teammates, they instill confidence in me day-after-day,” Harris stated. “And my coaches, they be on me, so each time my quantity is named, I’m simply able to go on the market and do what I’ve to do.”
Thomas additionally stepped up late within the recreation, scoring eight factors within the fourth quarter and helping on each of Harris’ 3-pointers. She was simply two rebounds shy of a triple-double, ending with 18 factors, 11 assists and eight rebounds.
“She steps up in massive moments,” White stated. “We put the ball in her palms lots within the fourth quarter to orchestrate our offense, and she or he made performs for herself and others. That’s what she does.”
The victory means Connecticut’s title hopes are nonetheless alive, however the Solar must shut the sequence on the street in Minnesota. A win there would result in a Finals matchup with the Liberty, who eliminated the Aces earlier on Sunday.
The Solar comprehend it solely will get more durable from right here, however as soon as the season ends, issues will change. And as Bonner stated, they aren’t fairly able to go their separate methods.
