Deadspin | Storm can’t overcome Sun as Brionna Jones stars

Brionna Jones scored a season-high 26 points Sunday as the Connecticut Sun won their second game in less than 24 hours, stopping the visiting Seattle Storm 93-86.

Jones was 9 of 13 from the field and 8 of 13 from the foul line as Connecticut improved to 24-8 and maintained the second-best record in the WNBA. Marina Mabrey came off the bench to tally 15, while DiJonai Carrington added 14 points and Tyasha Harris kicked in 13.

Jewell Loyd paced Seattle (19-13) with a game-high 27 points, while Nneka Ogwumike added 20 points and 11 rebounds. Skylar Diggins-Smith hit for 16 points and Ezi Magbegor contributed 13, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Storm’s fifth loss in seven games.

With Jones controlling the lane, the Sun consistently punished Seattle in the lane. They scored a season-high 56 points in the paint and canned 54.2 percent of their attempts from the field. Connecticut also made more foul shots (26) than the Storm tried (24).

Seattle was able to slice a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit down to 84-81 with 1:07 left when Ogwumike converted a 3-point play. But Mabrey converted a floater off the glass with 47.1 seconds remaining and the Sun were able to hold on from there.

Loyd got off to a quick start in the first quarter with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. However, Connecticut used a 7-0 run that saw Harris contribute a 3-pointer and a driving layup to take a 22-20 edge.

Playing unlike a team that finished off a win Saturday in Washington around 5 p.m., then tipped off another game 20 hours later, the Sun kept executing and scoring in the second quarter. They got the lead to nine at one point and settled for a 42-34 advantage at halftime.

Jones pushed the margin to 55-42 just past the midway point of the third quarter with a short hook shot, but the Storm were able to cut the margin down to 65-56 when the period ended.

–Field Level Media