The Connecticut Sun survived another scare on Friday night to remain the WNBA’s only undefeated team with a 74-72 win. They did so thanks to 15 points, nine rebounds and 14 assists from Alyssa Thomas, as well as some questionable decision-making by the Dallas Wings, whose outrageous attempt at a game-winner in the closing seconds did not work out.
With less than 10 seconds to play, the Wings trailed by one but had the ball on the baseline with a chance to take the lead. As the referee handed the ball to Sevgi Uzun, it appeared the Wings were set up to run Arike Ogunbowale to the strong side corner off a series of screens. Instead Uzun went rogue.
She spotted Bri Jones with her back turned to the ball and tried to throw it off her in the hopes that it would ricochet back cleanly for an easy bucket before Jones knew what was happening. Jones’ back was not exactly square to the baseline, however, so the ball caromed away and Uzun had to go chasing after it. While she was able to regather and get off a shot, it was a tough fadeaway instead of a layup.
In the aftermath, Wings head coach Latricia Trammell had a wry smile on her face as she turned away from the action. Tyasha Harris missed a free throw down on the other end, which gave the Wings another chance with 1.9 seconds remaining, but she redeemed herself by knocking away Uzun’s pass to preserve the win.
With the win, the Sun improved to 7-0, which not only has them alone in first place, but is the best start in franchise history. It is also tied for the seventh-best start in league history. The all-time record for wins to start a season is 13 by the Minnesota Lynx in 2016. The Sun have a long way to go to match that mark, but it’s not out of the question given their relatively comfortable schedule over the next few weeks. They’ll play again on Sunday against the Atlanta Dream.
