Connecticut Sun guard Leïla Lacan slips a layup past Indiana Fever defender Natasha Howard during the Fever’s 85-77 win in Boston. (Photo: Holden Barnes | The Podium Finish)
BOSTON — A strong defensive effort, and some flashes of offensive cohesion were enough to keep the Connecticut Sun close to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night at TD Garden Arena in Boston, Mass., but it wasn’t quite enough, as Indiana pulled away late for an 85-77 win.
Tina Charles led the charge for Connecticut (3-19) offensively, with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Leïla Lacan added a career best 18 points off the bench.
The game was nip and tuck throughout, with Indiana (12-10) holding a 1-point lead after the first quarter, and 2-point leads after both the second and third quarters. But Aliyah Boston took control early in the fourth quarter for Indiana, scoring the first six points of the frame, and Fever superstar Caitlin Clark, who had had an off game through the first three and a half quarters, knocked down a long three – her only triple of the game – with just under three minutes left, to give Indiana a 80-71 lead that put the game out of reach. The win gave the Fever a three game win streak, tying their longest win streak of the season to date.
“We were in position to win this game, so I think that’s something positive,” said Sun head coach Rachid Meziane. “We are improving. It means that we are close. I think that our mindset has changed a little bit. Now we’ll use this (all-star) break to come back with a little freshness and keep working hard on the court.”
Back and Forth Battle Early on
The teams traded baskets early on, but Indiana was slowly pulling away in the middle of the second quarter. The Fever had opened up a 39-30 lead, but a Bria Hartley three stopped the bleeding and kicked off a 10-0 Sun run, which gave them their first lead since early in the first quarter, but Indiana’s Sophie Cunningham answered with a late three of her own to send Connecticut to the half trailing 42-40.
In the third quarter, the seesaw battle resumed. While Indiana was able to open up the lead to as many as eight points, Connecticut always had an answer. The problem for the Sun, was that they couldn’t get over the hump and open up a lead of their own, so they spent the majority of the game in chase mode.
At the end of the third quarter Indiana still held to a razor thin 62-60 lead, but the didn’t have an answer for Indiana’s late surge in the final quarter..
In addition to the big games for Charles and Lacan, Aneesah Morrow chipped in with seven points and 12 rebounds, while Bria Hartley scored 11 points to go with four rebounds and two assists.
Indiana was led by Kelsey Mitchell, who slashed through the Sun defense for 20 points, while Natasha Howard had a strong double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Aliyah Boston packed the stat sheet for Indiana with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists, and despite a tough shooting night, Clark finished with 14 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
Tina Charles looks for a passing lane around Fever defender Makayla Timpson during the Connecticut Sun’s 85-77 loss to the Fever. (Photo: Holden Barnes | The Podium Finish)
Connecticut Has Reason for Hope
Despite suffering another close loss, Charles said there is cause for optimism for the Sun.
“We lost this game, but we lost it differently,” Charles said. “We are getting better. When we come back (from the all-star break), hopefully we continue to see the same team, but with a winning effort.”
One of the keys on Tuesday night was the team’s defensive tenacity which kept Indiana from getting into any offensive flow. Meziane said he was happy with his team’s toughness at the defensive point of attack, and he hopes to see that continue.
“(I was happy with) our toughness,” Meziane said. “How we recovered on ball screens. We were aggressive on Clark. In general our energy was good. We were recovering on the floor. We didn’t give them a lot of second chance opportunities. To progress, I think it’s about stopping the back door cuts and the off ball movement. We have to be better if we want to be consistent.”
Offensively, Lacan’s speed and quickness sparked the Sun, not only in their half court offense, but in transition as well. That is something Charles said she would like to see the team continue to do going forward.
“We would love for that to be our identity that our defense is what’s going to generate our offense for us,” Charles said. “To get out in transition, try to get easy baskets, not always have to set up. We definitely want to put that pressure on them. These last couple games we’ve been able to see that growth.”
Meziane agreed that the transition offense is important for the team, but added that the team needs to take advantage of those opportunities by making shots, something that was a struggle at times on Tuesday night.
“Offensively we have to score off our transition and our open shots,” he said. “We shot 83 times, so I think we played with a good pace, and we found some flow. Unfortunately we missed too many open shots. But we created good opportunities.”
The Sun put up 83 shots, as opposed to only 59 shots taken by Indiana, but they converted on only 30 of them, for a 35.1% shooting percentage on the night – a statistic that will have to improve if Connecticut hopes to turn its season around.
Olivia Nelson-Ododa and the Connecticut Sun defense made life difficult on Indiana superstar Caitlin Clark, who finished with just one made 3-pointer on Tuesday night. (Photo: Holden Barnes | The Podium Finish)
Sun Look to Continue Rising After All-Star Break
Overall, Meziane said he is happy with the direction the team is going, but he knows there is still room for improvement after the all-star break.
“We are doing better and better game after game,” he said. “We are playing now with more energy, more intensity. We are sticking to our game plan with more consistency. I think we are playing with a good inside out balance.”
He said the team is coming together off the court, which has been reflected in their play on the court.
“We have a kind of unity,” Meziane said. “Players are creating a connection with each other. We have to keep working on that. If we continue like that, I am sure that we are going to win games, because right now we have shown we can play against the best teams in the league, and the best players in the league. We just have to make sure that after this break, we don’t step back and we have to keep moving forward.”
If Tuesday’s marquee game with Indiana is any indication, the Sun aren’t far off, and if they can continue improving at the rate they have in recent weeks, they will indeed, rise after the all-star break.
