Ordinarily, fans in Connecticut would probably root for Dorka Juhasz, who played two collegiate seasons at UConn.
Not Tuesday.
Juhasz, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, and her Minnesota Lynx will face the Connecticut Sun in Uncasville, Conn., in the second game of a back-to-back series.
The Lynx (13-13) won 87-83 at the same venue Sunday, and Juhasz scored 11 points and added six rebounds in her homecoming.
Minnesota dropped the first six games of the season, but the Lynx have figured something out on their way back to .500. The Lynx have won their past three games by a total of 14 points.
“We’re understanding what it takes a little bit more as the season goes along,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “I’m very happy for them.”
And the 6-foot-5 Juhasz has been a big part of that. In the past three games, all wins, she is averaging 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds, up from her season averages of 6.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in 26 games (21 starts).
“I like Dorka’s versatility,” Reeve said. “I don’t know if I’ve coached a big that is as good as she is with the ball.”
In Sunday’s game, Kayla McBride’s 19 points paced the Lynx. She moved past the 4,000-point mark for her career.
The Sun (18-7) failed to take advantage of Alyssa Thomas’ fourth triple-double of the year, DeWanna Bonner’s 31 points and a 24-11 edge in scoring from the free-throw line on Sunday. Connecticut had a three-game winning streak snapped, but it has lost back-to-back games just once this year.
Still, four of the Sun’s seven losses have come at home.
“We have to be better next time,” Sun coach Stephanie White said.
Other statistics from that game also defy the result because Connecticut held a 34-31 rebounding edge and the Lynx committed 20 turnovers to the Sun’s 10. Connecticut couldn’t overcome 3-of-17 shooting on 3-pointers or Minnesota’s 57.4 percent shooting from the field.
Bonner has eclipsed the 30-point mark three times this season, including in the past two games. She’s the first player in franchise history with consecutive games of 30 or more points — her 31 against the Lynx and 32 points on Tuesday in the Sun’s win against the Dallas Wings.
Teammate Tiffany Hayes hit 1,000 rebounds for her career Sunday.
The Sun won two games earlier this season at Minnesota by scores of 89-84 on June 1 and 89-68 on June 22.
This is Connecticut’s final game before a four-game road trip.
–Field Level Media
