Tiffany Hayes scored 14 points, Alyssa Thomas narrowly missed a triple-double and the Connecticut Sun defeated the Indiana Fever 76-59 on Friday in Uncasville, Conn.
Thomas finished with 10 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for the Sun (27-12), who are locked in as the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and swept all four meetings with Indiana. Connecticut’s Natisha Hiedeman, Dewanna Bonner and DiJonai Carrington each scored 10 points. The Sun will host the Chicago Sky in the regular-season finale on Sunday.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 15 and NaLyssa Smith and Erica Wheeler added 14 each to lead the Fever (12-27), whose season will end at home against the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday.
Connecticut’s bench outscored Indiana’s bench 24-9, and the Sun shot 50 percent from the floor compared to the Fever’s 34.9 percent.
Indiana played without two of its top defensive players, Lexie Hull (shoulder) and Kristy Wallace (knee).
Indiana scored the first four points of the third quarter to get within two points, but Hayes scored five points and Bonner added four as Connecticut opened a 50-40 lead.
Smith scored three straight points as the Fever trailed just 10-8 before the Sun dominated the rest of the first quarter.
Heideman made consecutive 3-pointers, and Rebecca Allen added consecutive 3-pointers of her own during a 16-2 run that gave Connecticut a 26-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Bonner made a 3-pointer to start the second-quarter scoring and assisted on Olivia Nelson-Ododa’s basket as the lead grew to 21 points before Indiana turned things around.
Wheeler scored seven points, and Mitchell added six during a 21-4 run that pulled the Fever within four points before Bonner and Hiedeman each made a free throw to give the Sun a 37-31 halftime lead.
Originally posted on deadspin.com