MA VoepelESPN.com Shut up MA Voepel covers the WNBA, women’s college basketball and other college sports for espnW. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984 and has been with ESPN since 1996.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — With their backs against the wall (again) in the WNBA playoffs, the Connecticut Sun found another gear. Leading the way was the player they call “the machine”, Alyssa Thomas. Shut up
MA Voepel covers the WNBA, women’s college basketball and other college sports for espnW. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984 and has been with ESPN since 1996.
She posted the first triple-double in WNBA Finals history Thursday as the Sun beat the Las Vegas Aces 105-76 in Game 3 of their best-of-5 series after losing the first two games on the storied Strip. If anyone thought the Suns would roll for a sweep of the Aces … well, no one who follows the WNBA believed that. It’s just not the Sun’s personality. They lost a close Game 1 on Sunday and a not-so-close Game 2 on Tuesday at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas. But back at home at Mohegan Sun Arena in front of their home crowd, the Sun summoned the mojo they needed to force a Game 4 this Sunday here in Connecticut (4 p.m. ET, ESPN). “If you could include Connecticut, they’re natural and very resilient,” Aces coach Becky Hammon told the Sun. “They have a battle-type mentality and we didn’t match that tonight, in any category. They just kicked our ass in every way possible.” Of Thomas, who finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists, Hammon said, “She’s a beast. I went to a UFC fight the other night, I wouldn’t want to get in the cage with her. She’s just tough. Tough, tough , tough. And then a playmaker.”
1 Related The 6-foot-2 Thomas, 30, was the No. 4 pick in the 2014 WNBA draft out of Maryland, which she led to the Women’s Final Four her previous year. Thomas is a difficult – if not impossible – player to match up against anyone else in the WNBA. Her lingering shoulder injuries (torn vultures in both that have not been surgically repaired) prevent her from making a real jump, but that doesn’t matter. Thomas has found her own ways to put the ball in the hoop, and she is so crafty and powerful that she is hard to stop. Thomas is essentially a point ahead, with how well she handles the ball and looks to create opportunities for her teammates. And rebounds? Well, as Hammon said, there’s nothing about Thomas that makes you think you’re going to get over her or get over her. “What’s remarkable is that it’s every day. He doesn’t know how else to play,” Sun coach Curt Miller said of Thomas’ energy. “She’s probably the toughest player I’ve ever coached, but she’s the most consistent effort-wise player I’ve ever been around.” Consistency was lacking in some respects for the Sun in the first two games of the Finals, which put them in a win-or-bust situation. But they faced it in the first round when they had to go to Dallas to close out a best-of-three series in the semifinals and when they beat defending champion Chicago twice on Sky Court, including in the decisive Game 5. On Thursday, the Aces got off to a 9-2 start, but that was the extent of their control in this game. As if a switch was flipped, the Sun’s energy level skyrocketed and they led 34-19 after the first quarter. By the end of the game, all Sun starters had scored in double figures, led by 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones with 20 points. DeWanna Bonner, after going 2-for-18 from the field in the first two games of the Finals, went 8-for-15 Thursday for 18 points while helping hold Aces guard Chelsea Gray to 11 points. But the star of the night was Thomas, whose triple-double was her third of the year, a WNBA record. There have been 19 triple-doubles in WNBA history — three in the playoffs, the others by Chicago’s Courtney Vandersloot and Houston’s Sheryl Swoopes — but they’re becoming far less rare than they used to be. Eight of the 19 came this season and two were last season. This reflects more of a position-less game, which the WNBA sees just like the NBA. In Thomas’ case, it’s about her ability to be able to play both as a true position, but also as someone who can float around and make things happen for herself or her teammates. And on a night when the Sun’s season could have ended, Thomas spearheaded the desire to continue. “For me, I approached the game like I approach any other game,” Thomas said. “I think we just wanted it. We struggled offensively. We didn’t really have shots and tonight we came out ready.”
