Bonner, Thomas combine for 37 points, Sun beat Fever 70-61

May 20, 2023, 02:50 am

INDIANAPOLIS -- — DeWanna Bonner scored 19 points, Alyssa Thomas had 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, and the Connecticut Sun held off No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston and the Indiana Fever 70-61 on Friday night to begin the WNBA season.

Former Indiana coach Stephanie White got the win in her Connecticut debut after replacing Curt Miller, who took the Sun to the WNBA Finals last season.

Connecticut led by 15 points after three quarters but Indiana scored the opening 10 points of the fourth to cut its deficit to 58-53. The Sun eventually scored with 3:06 left on Bonner’s fast-break layup.

Boston, the top pick in the WNBA draft, scored the next four points to get Indiana within 60-57. But Thomas scored six points in 70 seconds to keep Connecticut in front.

Kelsey Mitchell scored 15 of Indiana’s 28 first-half points and finished with 20 points. Boston added 15 points and nine rebounds.

Brionna Jones added 13 points and nine rebounds for Connecticut despite fouling out with 4:06 left in the fourth. Starters Tiffany Hayes and Natisha Hiedeman combined to shoot just 3 of 19.

Connecticut opened the game on a 12-1 run as Indiana didn’t make its first field goal until the 3:29 mark. The Sun extended it to 25-11 after scoring six of the opening seven points of the second quarter. Indiana got within 35-28 at halftime despite shooting just 25% from the field.

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