By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Connecticut Sports Online
UNCASVILLE, Conn., June 30, 2005 – The five women of the Connecticut Sun flew up and down the Mohegan Sun Arena hardwood with the swagger of a champion and the confidence that comes with it.
On a steamy Thursday evening, the visiting Minnesota Lynx were little more than window dressing. The Sun rebounded, played tough defense, found the open man and dominated in a one-sided, 17-point victory to win for the 12th time in 14 games.
Minnesota coach Suzie McConnell Serio saw enough. “Their execution is very good. They’re unselfish. They move the ball well and really play well together,” she said. “They are the best team in the league. It is their championship to lose right now.”
Connecticut surged out of the gate for a quick 14-2 lead. The Lynx cut the lead to one late in the first half only to see the Sun respond with a 15-3 outburst. Minnesota never got any closer than 10 points again. Game over.
In the middle of it was Bloomfield’s Nykesha Sales. Her 18 points left her as Connecticut’s leading scorer for the fifth time in the last seven games.
The six-time All-Star forward was smooth, hitting floating jump shots, pull-up jumpers and driving the baseline. She hit a pair of 3-point goals with her typical fade away style, leaning back from the basket.
Early in the game, she recorded the 500th assist of her WNBA career, kicking the ball back outside to Brooke Wyckoff, who drained a three-pointer. A game earlier against Sacramento, she became just the ninth player in league history to score 3,000 career points.
But it wasn’t a one-person show against Minnesota and it hasn’t been all season. Sun guard Lindsay Whalen was superb with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Katie Douglas had 12 points and five assists. Seven-foot-two Margo Dydek had nine points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks. The Sun had 21 assists on 28 field goals.
“No one is worried about anything,” Sales said. “Every one has everybody’s back.”
A year ago, Sales and Sun were one jump shot shy of winning a WNBA championship against Seattle. But Sales’ baseline jumper in the waning seconds of game two bounced off the rim and the Storm lived to play game 3 where they earned a dominating victory and the championship.
The Sun added Dydek thanks to a draft-day trade and regained the services of Wyckoff, who missed the previous year with an ACL injury. Dydek’s dominating presence in the middle (37 blocks) and the depth Wyckoff (16 three-pointers) brings off the bench has helped give Sales and her teammates more chances to score.
“There is no one person that does everything,” Sales said. “All of us help contribute to win games.”
Taj McWilliams-Franklin has placed with Sales for seven years in the WNBA. They are the last two players left from the original Orlando Miracle team in 1999. “This year, I think she has developed a bit more of a leadership attitude,” McWilliams-Franklin said. “She’s not speaking any more than she has in the past. But she wants the responsibility of being a team leader.”
Simply, Sales is remaining positive even when things don’t go as planned.
“Mentally has been the biggest improvement for me this year,” she said. “In the past, I thought if I didn’t score so many points, it wasn’t a good game for me. Now I realize I can get other people involved if I’m not scoring. I can play a little defense or get some steals.”
At one point against Minnesota, the Sun led by 20 but Sales saw an opportunity. A Lynx player stumbled and Sales hustled after the loose ball, scooping it up and driving to the basket. She dished it off inside to Ashja Jones, who kicked it back out to Sales for a trademark fallaway jumper.
“We’re just having fun and feeling good winning games,” Sales admitted. “It’s a nice comfort zone right now.”
Through 14 games, Sales’ top scoring effort was 26 points in a 90-70 win at Los Angeles, handing the Sparks their worst loss in franchise history. She had 14 points, three assists and three steals in a 61-50 win over Sacramento on the road as the Sun rallied in the second half. She is averaging 15.9 points a game, the second-highest of her career with a team-high 17 three-point goals.
