Connecticut Sun vs. Indiana Fever Prediction and Odds - 7/3/21
A pair of Eastern Conference rivals at opposite ends of the standings take the floor in WNBA action from the Hoosier State. The Connecticut Sun are on the road as they make the trip west to face the Indiana Fever Saturday afternoon in the second game of a two-game set. In the opening game of the two-game series Thursday night, it was Connecticut earning an 86-80 victory to ensure no worse than a split. The Sun have taken both matchups this season, having rolled to an 88-67 home victory in the first meeting this season on May 21. Thursday’s triumph gave Connecticut 10 wins in the last 11 meetings between the teams. Can the Sun rise again and keep the Fever at bay or will Indiana build off a game showing?
Connecticut Sun Seeking Fifth Consecutive Win
Connecticut faced a stiffer challenge than expected from the one-win Fever but managed to earn a fourth straight win by prevailing in the opening game of this two-game road set. The Sun entered Friday third in the WNBA playoff picture with a 12-5 record, just a half-game behind the Aces and Storm for the league’s best record. On Thursday night, Connecticut trailed by four early before going on an 8-0 run to take a 14-10 lead with 4:41 to play in the opening quarter. The Sun led the rest of the way as the Fever got no closer than two. Connecticut led by 18 at the half and didn’t let the Fever closer than the final margin in the second half. The Sun shot 46% from the field, including five of 20 from three-point range, and hit 23 of 26 free throws in the win. Brionna Jones poured in a career-high 34 points plus seven rebounds and three steals in the victory.
The Sun is 8th in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 80.4 points per game so far this season. Connecticut is fourth in the league in rebounding (36.9 boards a night) while they stand 8th by dishing out 18 assists a game on the year. The Sun have been good defensively as they are first in scoring defense by allowing an average of 74.5 points per game. DeWanna Bonner is second on the Sun with 15.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists a game. Jonquel Jones (team-high 21.5 points, 10.3 rebounds), Natisha Hiedeman (8.3 points) and Brionna Jones (15.5 points, 6.7 rebounds) each are valuable contributors. Jasmine Thomas (12.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists), Briann January, Beatrice Mompreier, Stephanie Jones, DiJonai Carrington and Kaila Charles are important pieces for coach Curt Miller. Connecticut is fourth in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 44.1% as a team. The Sun are sixth in three-pointers per game (7.4) and third in three-point percentage (36.4%) on the year. Connecticut has been mediocre at the charity stripe as they convert on 80.3% of their attempts, which is 8th in the league. Alyssa Thomas is questionable as she recovers from offseason surgery for a torn Achilles.
Indiana Fever Hoping to Turn Things Around
Indiana suffered their 12th straight loss as they were unable to overcome a slow start against the Sun in the first game of this two-game set. The Fever dropped to 1-16 on the season and are in the basement in the WNBA playoff picture, seven games behind the Mercury for the final playoff spot. Indiana led 10-6 early before giving up an 8-0 run to trail 14-10. The Fever got no closer than two after that, trailing by nine after the opening quarter and by 18 at the half. Indiana cut the deficit to eight after three quarters but got no closer than six down the stretch. The Fever shot 48.3% from the field, including two of nine from three-point range, and turned the ball over 15 times in the loss. Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 21 points in the loss.
The Fever comes into this game 12th in the league in scoring offense with 74.2 points per game. Indiana is eighth in the league in rebounding (33.9 boards per contest) and is 11th in the league in assists with an average of 17.2 dimes per game. The Fever are 12th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 87.8 points a night. Kelsey Mitchell is one of three players for the Fever averaging in double figures with 16.3 points a night. Teaira McCowan (10.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.2 blocks) and Danielle Robinson (8.8 points, 3.6 assists) are good secondary options. Tiffany Mitchell (11.8 points), Jantel Lavender, Bernadett Hatar, Victoria Vivians, Jessica Breland, Lindsey Allen, Kysre Gondrezick and Chelsey Perry are looked at to contribute for coach Pokey Chatman. Indiana is 10th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 41.3% as a team on the year. The Fever are 12th in threes per game (4.3) while standing 12th by hitting 26.5% of their long-range attempts. Indiana is 9th in free throw shooting as they sink 78.5% of their chances at the stripe this season. Breland left the game against the Wings June 24 with a knee injury and is questionable here.
Pick: Connecticut Sun
While Indiana kept the final score to a single-digit margin Thursday night, the fact remains that they couldn’t make a push in the fourth quarter after slicing an 18-point lead to eight after three quarters. Connecticut has been revitalized with the return of Jonquel Jones, who was an early frontrunner for MVP honors before leaving for EuroBasket. The Sun had their struggles without her but come in with four straight wins on the books. Connecticut leads the league in scoring defense while Indiana is last in both scoring offense and scoring defense this season. After seeing Brionna Jones step up with a huge performance Thursday night, it’s Jonquel Jones and Bonner stepping up here. Connecticut makes it five straight wins by rolling to a win here.
Total: Over
Connecticut has seen the over hit in four of their last six games coming into this game. The Sun have ramped up their offense of late with the return of Jonquel Jones and facing the league’s worst scoring defense in the Fever definitely can help any team that has had issues. To be fair, Indiana put together a solid showing for their part against the league’s top scoring defense in a losing effort. Connecticut has seen the over hit in seven of their 17 games but they had exceeded the mark in just three of their first 11 games. Meanwhile, Indiana has seen the over hit in eight of 17 games. Five of the last eight meetings have exceeded the total: look for Connecticut to take advantage of Indiana’s defensive woes to push this over the mark as well.
