Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the WNBA daily as we try to heal from this pandemic.
DeWanna Bonner scored 27 to lead the Sun to a win against her former team.
(PHOTO CREDIT: AFP.)
Ya know, when I was talking about the Connecticut Sun, I had mentioned Alyssa Thomas (who is out for the season because of an Achilles tear) and Jonquel Jones (who is making her return after skipping the Wubble season).
I forgot about you, DeWanna Bonner. I’m so sorry.
But she’s the ace scorer for the Sun. When they were down against the Mercury early, she kept her team afloat. Then Connecticut surged to the lead as Bonner went on to score 18 points in the first half.
Of course, the Mercury made a run. When you have Diana Taurasi on your team, it never seems like you’re out of a game. She took the lead for the Mercury twice with back-to-back threes. But Taurasi taught Bonner well. DeWanna’s own three gave the lead back to the Sun. The Sun would never trail again.
Bonner led the team with 27 points. She was aggressive as she went to the line 12 times. And she had three of her four assists in the all-important 4th quarter. Natasha Hiedeman and Briann January were huge in the second half. Jonquel Jones had a double-double with 14 points and 13 boards.
But Bonner is our focus here. Without Jones last year, Bonner did her thing by averaging 19.7 points and 7.8 rebounds. And in the playoffs last year, she was huge in eliminating the Chicago Sky (23 points and 12 boards) and the L.A. Sparks (17-13-5). And she nearly helped upend the Las Vegas Aces in Game 5 with 15 points, 8 boards, 6 assists, 3 blocks, and 5 steals. She’s a star that gets overlooked, sometimes, for sure.
And she’ll definitely be a reason on why the Sun have a chance to get far this season, even without Thomas.
Bullet Passes
There was only one other game and it was the rematch between the New York Liberty and the Indiana Fever. The Liberty also won this game and there were no Sabrina Ionescu heroics needed. The Fever were limited to .325 shooting. Blech.
It wasn’t a pretty game by any means. Both teams combined for 43 turnovers. Ionescu herself had 8 giveaways.
Betnijah Laney does continue to show her scoring prowess. She led all scorers with 20 points.
WNBA Scoreboard
May 16, 2021
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This is a hell of a pass by Sabrina to Didi Richards, though.
The backdoor cut. The pass. The finish.@sabrina_i20 🤝 @Deauzya
📺 @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/Cjpw8vylAn
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 16, 2021
Her court vision is nearly unmatched. My gosh.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the WNBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.
R.I.P. Nala.