After a surprising win over the Houston Comets on Friday night, the Connecticut Sun headed to San Antonio. And when they left the SBC Center on Sunday afternoon, they had a resounding 83-64 victory over the Silver Stars.
San Antonio got off to an impressive start with a 14-3 run to open the game. But that was as good as it got for the home team. At half time the Sun had captured a 34-30 lead despite shooting only 29.3% from the floor.
In the second half as the Silver Stars racked up turnovers and missed shots, the Sun got hotter. Connecticut hit 18-of-37 shots from the field, including 6-of-14 from beyond the arc, in the second stanza.
"We have to defend the 3-point shot," said Silver Stars head coach Candi Harvey. "It seems every time we give up the 3-point shot, we lose some confidence and let the other team back in it."
The Silver Stars closed the gap to six points with 7:23 remaining in the contest on the relentless play of Semeka Randall and Gwen Jackson off the bench. Randall finished the game with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Jackson tallied 10 points and six boards.
"When you just don't get a job done, you just don't get it done," said Randall of the defeat. "We can sit here and have a pity party all day, but bottomline is we have to find a way to win."
The Sun played hard on both ends of the floor in the second half. Nykesha Sales scored nine of her game-high 22 points in the final seven minutes of the game, as the Sun pulled away to a 22-point lead with 63 seconds left at 83-61.
Connecticut had five players in double-digits, including Adrienne Johnson with 14 points off the bench. The Silver Stars finished the game with 15 turnovers while the Sun had only five.
This is the third straight loss for the Silver Stars (1-3) since their opening night victory over the Seattle Storm. San Antonio's only starter in double figures was center Margo Dydek with 14 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks.
"We are going to keep focusing," said Harvey. "This is just X's and O's and things that we have to fix on the basketball court as far as execution. And as we fix those things, we'll become a better basketball team."
GAME NOTES:
Sun reserve Wendy Palmer went down with 9:54 left in the first half and had to be carried off the court on a stretcher. Results of preliminary neck x-rays were negative.
Former Sam Houston and Texas standout Tai Dilliard made her WNBA debut when she entered the game with 4:44 left in the first half for the Silver Stars.
San Antonio's Adrienne Goodson received the Off-season Community Assist Award before the game for her community outreach during the WNBA off-season.
Silver Stars guard Marie Ferdinand finished the game with only four points on 0-for-8 shooting from the field.
