Recap The Court

Photo: Chris Poss/The Next

Jacob Smith

Who wants it more? The Connecticut Sun as they pick up a tough 83-82 win in overtime over the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday night. The battle of undefeated teams and two phenomenal defences meant that tough shots and being able to stay steady were going to put one on top.

Minnesota came out with poise defensively and they were hitting shots offensively, which earned them a easy 13-point lead and left Connecticut searching for answers defensively. The battle between Alanna Smith and DeWanna Bonner inside started to take shape around the rim as Brionna Jones found her rhythm and started to push Connecticut back.

A big run by Connecticut in the second quarter fuelled by their play in and around the paint got their feet back under them, and tightening up the defence led to the Sun tying the game in the third quarter.

Every play down the floor, it felt like either Napheesa Collier or Brionna Jones were impacting the play for their teams. Collier working her way around the floor to create her shots leading to her 24 points, Jones using her footwork around the rim to secure key offensive rebounds and momentum shifting buckets, they kept their team going and allowed for others to make those big shots that kept things going.

For the Sun, that second consistent contributor was none other than DeWanna Bonner and her unguardable baseline fadeaway jumper. When she got her back to the basket on the baseline it felt like she was going to score every time, and her ability to do that along with playing great defence on Alanna Smith inside the paint creating key turnovers, gave the Sun sparks when Minnesota was trying to slow them down defensively.

For Minnesota, Courtney Williams ability to create and make tough shots was on display all night. Driving to the rim and putting it over two defenders, making midrange shots from any area, Courtney constantly gave the Lynx a push and a jolt of energy on the court, and made the game a lot of fun to watch.

A back-and-forth game of physicality and half court execution, the game truly came down to who wanted it more. I got a feeling we’re going to see this matchup down the road when there’s more at stake. Though one of these two teams had to end their undefeated start, the way these two teams played tonight, I don’t see losses as a trend developing anytime soon.