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Connecticut Sun defeats Minnesota Lynx in Game 4 of WNBA playoff series

Posted on by Vanessa
Connecticut Sun defeats Minnesota Lynx in Game 4 of WNBA playoff series

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With 20 points, Tyasha Harris led five players in double figures on Sunday as the Connecticut Sun rallied in the second half to force a decisive fifth game in their WNBA semifinal series against the Minnesota Lynx and a 92-82 victory in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The winner of Tuesday night's contest in Minneapolis will advance to the WNBA finals against top-seeded New York. The Liberty defeated two-time champion Las Vegas 76-62 earlier in the day and won their best-of-five series 3-1.

Connecticut evened that series at 2-2 by shutting down Minnesota's potent offense in the second half. The Lynx missed their first 10 3-point attempts after scoring nine in the first half. And the Sun controlled the lane, securing a 50-30 advantage in the color points.

DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas each scored 18 points for Connecticut, with Thomas adding 11 assists and eight rebounds. DiJonai Carrington scored 15 points and Marina Mabrey came off the bench to score 10.

Napheesa Collier scored a game-high 29 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, while Natisha Hiedeman, coming off the bench, added 16 points. Courtney Williams contributed 11.

Connecticut outscored the Lynx 24-19 in the fourth quarter and led by as many as 15 points at the end. It hit 53.7 percent of its field goal attempts.

To end the series, Minnesota got off to a good start behind Collier. She scored nine points in a span of about 4 1/2 minutes as the Lynx built a 22-12 lead before settling for a 22-15 lead after one quarter.

Minnesota continued to convert in the second quarter, restoring the 10-point lead on three separate occasions. As Connecticut got within four points, Hiedeman calmed the crowd by sending a 30-footer from the left wing as time expired for a 50-43 halftime lead.

MORE: New York Liberty ends Las Vegas Aces' three-peat push and advances to WNBA Finals

The Sun hit their stride in the third quarter. They took the lead for good with 2:40 left when Bonner converted Carrington's pass into an alley-oop basket and Thomas made a layup with 1.2 seconds left for a 68-63 lead heading into the fourth period.

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