WNBA SEMIFINALS GAME ONE: Sun Shut Down Aces, 87-62, To Take 1-0 Lead

Palmetto, FL (September 20, 2020)—The Las Vegas Aces (0-1) suffered through their roughest shooting effort of the year, Sunday afternoon, connecting on just 33.8 percent of their shots as the Connecticut Sun (1-0) upended them, 87-62, to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five WNBA Semifinals series.

KEY RUNS

First Quarter (Connecticut 14, Las Vegas 10)

Neither team led by more than four in the quarter. The Sun closed the period on a 6-0 run.

Second Quarter (Connecticut 36, Las Vegas 25)

Connecticut led 20-18 with 6:11 to go in the half, but scored the next 7 straight to lead by nine, 27-18, and 16 of the next 21 to go up 13, 36-23.

Third Quarter (Connecticut 64, Las Vegas 41)

The Sun scored 15 of the first 21 points of the quarter to go up 20, 51-31.

Fourth Quarter (Connecticut 87, Las Vegas 62)

The Sun opened the quarter on a 9-2 run, expanding its lead to a game-high  30. The Aces never got closer than 17 the rest of the way.

KEY STATS

It has been 191 days since Breonna Taylor was murdered.

The Sun made 50.0 percent (34 of 68) of their shots from the field, while the Aces made 33.8 percent (23 of 68) of theirs.

Connecticut outscored Las Vegas 15-6 on fast break points.

GAME NOTES

Las Vegas’ 10 first quarter points tied the team’s season low set August  29 vs. New York.

Las Vegas’ 25 first half points are their fewest of the year in the first (30 vs. New York on August 29). The last time they scored fewer than 25 points in a first half was July 15, 2017, prior to moving to Las Vegas, when they scored 24 in an 89-56 loss to the Sun.

The Aces are 0-3 this year when allowing an opponent to make 50 percent or more of their field goal attempts.

Jasmine Thomas (31 points) is the third Aces’ opponent to score 30 or more points in a game against them this season. All three have come in the month of September (32, Diana Taurasi vs. Phoenix, September 1; 30, Jewell Loyd at Seattle, Sept. 13).

Jasmine Thomas’ 13 made field goals are the most made by a Las Vegas opponent this year.

Angel McCoughtry’s 6 points were her fewest ever in a playoff game, snapping her string of 33 straight games scoring in double figures in the postseason (11 at Indiana, Sept. 22, 2011).

NEXT OPPONENT

Las Vegas and Connecticut play game two of their WNBA Semifinals series, Tuesday, September 22. Tip is slated for 9 pm ET/6 pm PT on ESPN2.