Former UConn star Napheesa Collier leads Minnesota Lynx over Sun in her last CT appearance
· Yahoo Sports
UNCASVILLE - Ideally when a sports team hosts a homecoming game, the opponent is carefully handpicked to give the fans plenty of reason to cheer. Such is not the case in professional sports where the league makes the schedule.
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To pay tribute honor the rich history of the franchise with just three games remaining in state, the Connecticut Sun promoted Sunday's second-to-last home game as their Homecoming Night.
The loyal fans packed the arena despite the fact that the Sun went into the game with the second-to-worst record in the league at 10-31, and they were loud when the team gave them reason to be.
Unfortunately for them, former UConn All-American Napheesa Collier felt just a little more at home in the final game of her career in Connecticut, and her Minnesota Lynx had just far too much talent to make it a day of celebration for the Sun.
The Lynx maintained the best record in the WNBA with a 101-89 victory at Mohegan Sun Arena behind a game-high 23 points from Collier to improve to 32-10.
Collier shot 9 for 16 from the field and 5 for 5 from the line and also finished with five rebounds and two steals.
Minnesota also received 21 points from rookie Olivia Miles as all five starters scored in double-figures for the Lynx. Natasha Howard contributed a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The Sun also had five double-figure scorers led by Diamond Miller and Leila Lacan with 15 points apiece. Charlisse Leger-Walker added 10 points and eight assists.
Collier went into the game averaging 17.7 points and 7.3 rebounds since her return from having surgery performed on both of her ankles. She missed the first few months of the season rehabbing and has played just 14 games.
She had one surgery on New Year's Day and another in March and has slowly made her way back to being a force for the team with the league's best record.
Collier had 10 points by the end of the first quarter as scored the first two baskets of the game and seven of Lynx first 14 points as Minnesota jumped out to a 27-12 lead after the first quarter of play.
Coming off an embarrassing 44-point loss at Atlanta on Thursday, Connecticut's fourth consecutive loss, it wasn't the type of response the Sun needed.
No Sun player had more than one field goal in the first quarter, but they finally came to life in the second quarter as Connecticut outscored Minnesota, 31-28, behind 11 points from Leila Lacan. She shot 3-for-3 from 3-point range in the quarter as the Sun rallied to cut its deficit to just eight points, 49-41, in the final minute of the first half.
Collier quickly restored the double-digit lead for the Lynx, however, with a three-point play, scoring on a strong drive to the basket while being fouled by Nell Angloma with 25.2 seconds remaining in the half.
Collier finished the first half with a game-high 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting, and Minnesota went into intermission leading, 55-43.
The Lynx scored the first six points of the second half, re-establishing Minnesota's superiority and prompting Connecticut coach Rachid Meziane to call a timeout. The Sun settled down after the rough start and went on to outscore the Lynx, 24-21, in the quarter.
The Sun got as close as seven points, 76-69, when Raegan Beers scored the second of her three field goals in a row for the team, but the Lynx always seemed to have an answer to keep the game under control.
As a major part of the Homecoming night the Sun honored the first coach in their Connecticut franchise history, Mike Thibault. He was named the head coach when the franchise moved from Orlando to Connecticut, and he coached the team from 2003-12. During his time as coach, the team won a pair of Eastern Conference championships and advanced to the WNBA Finals in 2004 and 2005.
Thibault was also named the WNBA Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2008, but the Sun never won a WNBA championship during his tenure or in the franchise's time in the state.
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