Thomas and Bonner help the Sun advance to their fifth straight WNBA semifinals
Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas (25) shoots as Minnesota Lynx forward Dorka Juhasz, right, defends during the first half of Game 3 of a WNBA first-round basketball playoff series on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, in Minneapolis (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Alyssa Thomas tied a career-high with 28 points, DeWanna Bonner had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Connecticut Sun beat the Minnesota Lynx 90-75 on Wednesday night to advance to their fifth straight WNBA playoff semifinals.
Connecticut will play the New York Liberty on Sunday in a best-of-five series. The Sun lost all four regular-season games with the Liberty this season. It was the second consecutive season that the Sun went on the road to win Game 3 of their first round playoff series.
Tyasha Harris added 18 points off the bench for Connecticut. She made four of the Sun’s nine 3-pointers. Thomas also had 12 assists and six rebounds.
Napheesa Collier led Minnesota with 31 points. Kayla McBride, who scored 28 points in Game 2 on Sunday, was held to 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting.
Connecticut made eight of its first nine shots and scored 14 straight points to take a 20-6 lead. Minnesota was within 32-29 before Connecticut scored the next 11 points for a 14-point lead. The Sun made 11 of their last 13 shots of the first half, including Bonner’s baseline jumper just before the buzzer for a 49-34 lead.
Bonner and Thomas scored or assisted on 40 of the Sun’s 49 first-half points. Bonner was 5 of 6 from the field in the first half for 14 points and Thomas also scored 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
Bonner made two 3-pointers in the opening 3:05 of the third quarter for a 57-38 lead.
Bonner became the third player in WNBA playoff history with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds, joining Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker.