When the Connecticut Sun take on the host Portland Fire on Monday, the game will probably not be a defensive battle. Portland and Connecticut rank at the bottom of the WNBA in the early season defensive scoring stats, allowing 98 and 98.5 points per game, respectively. Monday’s matchup offers a chance to improve and grab an elusive win for the Sun.
Connecticut (0-4) is the last winless squad in the WNBA. The Sun dropped a 101-94 shootout to WNBA defending champion Las Vegas on Friday. The game represented a season-high point total for Connecticut, but much of the talk afterward centered around A’ja Wilson’s 45 points for Las Vegas.
“We know that she’s the best player in the world,” said Sun coach Rachid Meziane. “But I do think Reagan (Beers) freezed up a little bit… and she was a little too much of a spectator tonight.”
Beers, a rookie, had just six points while drawing the tough defensive assignment off the bench, but six Sun players scored in double figures. Connecticut was led by 17 points from Hailey Van Lith on 7-for-11 shooting.
Connecticut was at least competitive down the stretch on Friday, unlike a couple of brutal losses earlier, prompting Meziane to note, “We can be proud of how we fought tonight. It was a lot better for us.”
Brittney Griner, who leads the Sun with 14.5 points per game, has missed the last two contests with a left foot injury and is listed as day-to-day.
Portland (1-2) has had its own troubles, coming off a 100-82 loss to the New York Liberty on Thursday. The expansion Fire allowed New York to shoot 15 of 38 from 3-point range.
The long-range attack buried Portland in the third quarter. The Fire trailed by two at the half and just four with 5:15 left in the third quarter, but the quarter ended with a 20-7 Liberty run including three 3-point bombs that allowed New York to pull away.
“The story of the game was evident in that third-quarter stretch,” said Fire coach Alex Sarama. “We can’t let what happens with our offense define our defensive side… and I think we went away from that in the third quarter.”
Five players scored in double figures for Portland, led by reserve Megan Gustafson’s 14 points (on 5-for-6 shooting) in just 14 minutes.
“We’re going to keep trapping, keep scrambling,” said Sarama. “That’s the only way it can be.”
Guard Carla Leite, who leads the team with 19.5 points per game, did not play on Thursday and remains day-to-day with a right ankle injury.
–Field Level Media
