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The Connecticut Sun have wrested home-court advantage from the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA semifinals. But going up 2-0 won't be easy.
The Sun earned a narrow 73-70 win over the Lynx in Game 1 on Sunday, limiting Minnesota superstar Napheesa Collier to 19 points on 7 of 16 shooting and getting a 20-point effort from midseason pickup Marina Mabrey.
Game 2 is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday night in Minnesota, and the Lynx -- who haven't lost back-to-back games since mid-July -- almost certainly will make adjustments. So, what does Connecticut need to do to emerge with the victory?
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NBC Connecticut sports reporter Gabby Lucivero joined NBC Boston's Hannah Donnelly on the latest On Her Mark podcast to share her three keys to a Sun victory in Game 2. Lucivero's first key? Get DeWanna Bonner going offensively.
CT SUN Semi-Finals vs. Minnesota Lynx | Game 1 Recap | Listen and Subscribe
"I do think Bonner needs to have a better shooting night," Lucivero told Donnelly. "I think DB would say she needs to have a better shooting night. Because we're going see to Minnesota step it up. (Collier) is going to be looking at that box score going, 'That's not acceptable for me.' So, we're gonna see those two things get ratcheted up."
Bonner scored just 10 points on 4 of 17 shooting (2 of 8 from 3-point range) in Game 1, but Connecticut's strong defense helped power the victory. Lucivero's second key revolved around slowing down Collier, who scored a whopping 80 points combined in the Lynx's 2-0 sweep of the Phoenix Mercury in Round 1.
"I think that they need to figure out a way to be able to take (Collier) out of the game without needing necessarily a four-player rotation," Lucivero said. "So, No. 2 is, what's the solution for (Collier) knowing she's going to be coming in expecting to play better than she did in Game 1?"
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Lucivero's third key focused on Sun guard DiJonai Carrington, who recently was named the WNBA's Most Improved Player. Alyssa Thomas, Bonner and Mabrey are Connecticut's three most potent offensive players, so if Carrington -- who scored 13 points in Game 1 -- can make significant contributions on that end, that's a major X-factor for the Sun.
"I'm gonna take Alyssa Thomas out of the keys to the game because Alyssa Thomas is the key to the game," Lucivero said. "So, I wanna see more -- it feels wrong to say 'more' from DiJonai Carrington, because she has done everything -- but we haven't really talked about her that much in this, and she has been such a huge piece of why the Sun are here and I've loved her trajectory."
"... Key three is more new-look DiJonai. Just more of it. I think she played great in Game 1 -- now just give us more."
Follow the On Her Mark podcast throughout the WNBA playoffs for reaction and analysis of every Sun game.
