Ty Harris leads Suns to win over Lynx, helping Connecticut avoid elimination from the WNBA playoffs

Uncasville, Conn. – In the Connecticut Sun’s last two games – both losses against the Minnesota Lynx – Ty Harris played a combined 13 minutes, and went scoreless, appearing to still not be himself since returning from injury. Harris, who has been one of Connecticut’s key players all season, suffered a sprained ankle just four minutes into the game. wnba In the postseason, the next three games were missed – all wins. While she returned in Game 2 against Minnesota on Tuesday, she came off the bench and played limited minutes.

After consecutive losses, the Suns found themselves with a 2–1 series lead, facing elimination against the Lynx. Before the must-win Game 4, head coach Stephanie White made it clear that Harris was needed. She would return to the starting lineup in place of Marina Mabrey – and was expected to contribute like she has all year.

“We need him to be there,” White said before the game. “We need him to take shots for us. We need to become shot makers for ourselves. We need him to be a solid protector for us. So he’s going to have to be in the rotation.”

Harris replied. One of Connecticut’s top shooters all year, the 5′ 10 guard exploded for 20 points – 13 of which came in the second half. He made 4-5 shots from beyond the arc, accounting for half of Connecticut’s total of 8 three-pointers.

In turn, the sun, which seemed Sluggish and out of focus in game 3Won 92-82.

Changing things was a team effort. Connecticut trailed by 7 at halftime, but responded strongly in the third quarter, outscoring the Lynx 25–13.

Alyssa Thomas, who shot just 2-10 in the first half, bounced back with a 14-point performance in the second half and finished the game with 18 points on 8/17 shooting. Bonner had one of his best performances of the postseason, scoring 18 points on 8-12 shooting. Dijonai Carrington added 15 points on 6-10 shooting, while Marina Mabrey added 10 points off the bench.

Ty Harris addressed the Mohegan Sun crowd after the win.

“We forced it in Game 5, and we’re going to do it there.”

The series will return to Minneapolis, where the Lynx and Suns will face off in a decisive Game 5. The winner of that series will advance to the WNBA Finals, which begins Thursday at 8 p.m. ET at Barclays Center. Earlier on Sunday Liberty defeated Aces76–62, in Game 4.