Brionna Jones records season-high 26 points as Connecticut Sun defeat Seattle Storm

UNCASSVILLE, CT – The Connecticut Sun (24-8) defeated the Seattle Storm (19-13), 93-86 on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Sun tie the regular season series with the Storm, 1-1, with the series deciding meeting coming on Tuesday night.

Connecticut also moved to 2-1 on the season when coming off zero days of rest.

Brionna Jones led the way for the Sun, notching a season-high 26 points, six rebounds, one assist and two steals in the win. The performance marked Jones’ second 20+ outing of the season and the most points scored since June 15, 2023, when she logged 28 points against Atlanta.

Marina Mabrey added 15 points, one rebound and one assist on the day, tallying her fifth straight double-digit outing and seventh 10+ point performance in a Sun uniform. DiJonai Carrington logged 14 points, three rebounds and three steals in the win, notching her fifth straight games with at least two steals.

Ty Harris added 13 points, while Veronica Burton matched her season-high with 11 points, two assists and two steals in 20 minutes off the bench.

Connecticut outscored Seattle in every quarter besides the fourth, as the Storm were able to cut into the Sun’s lead as close as three points, 89-86, with 23.4 seconds remaining in the contest. Free throw shooting down the stretch became crucial as the Sun took 19 free throws in the final ten minutes going 11/19 (57.9%).

The Sun’s 19 attempts in the fourth quarter mark one shy of a franchise record for most attempts in a single quarter (20- 6/3/12 vs. WAS).

The Sun shot 54.2% (32-59) from the floor while holding the Storm to 42.9% (30-70) from the field on the day. The Sun attempted a WNBA season-high 38 free throws on the day, however the team went just 68.4% (26-38) from the charity stripe.

The Sun’s 38 free throw attempts were also the most attempted by any team since August 6, 2022 (Dallas- 45). The two teams combined for 62 free throw attempts, which marked the second time this season that two teams combined for at least 60 free throw attempts in a single game. Seattle went 91.7% (22-24) on the day.

Jewell Loyd led the way for the Storm, tallying 24 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals. Nneka Ogwumike added a double-double notching 20 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Connecticut recorded a season-high 56 points in the paint, outscoring Seattle, 56-42, in the lane. The Sun also held the advantage on the fast break (10-8) and from the bench (28-6), while the Storm outscored the Sun on second chance opportunities (9-7).

Notes:

• Alyssa Thomas finished with eight points, eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals in 28 minutes of action. She sat briefly due to a right leg injury in the second quarter but returned to play in the second half.
• It marked Thomas’ 15th game tallying 8+ assists this season. The Sun are 13-2 when Thomas dishes out eight or more assists.
• Thomas moved into 25th all-time in steals in the WNBA, passing Penny Taylor. She now has 482 steals in her career.
• Thomas also moved into 19th all-time in rebounding in the WNBA, passing Tangela Smith. She now has 2,338 career rebounds.
• Today, DeWanna Bonner moved into fifth all-time in games played in WNBA history, tying Candice Dupree (494).

NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun host the Seattle Storm in the second of two meetings this week on Tuesday, September 3 at 7 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The Connecticut Sun provided information to help produce this article