Alyssa Thomas scores 21, Sun hand Dream 5th straight loss

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Alyssa Thomas scored 21 points, Jasmine Thomas had 15 points and seven assists and the Connecticut Sun beat the Atlanta Dream 93-82 on Monday night.

Jasmine Thomas and Alyssa Thomas combined to score 26 points in the first half as Connecticut built a 56-46 lead. The Sun put it away in the third quarter by holding the Dream to 15 points.

The Dream lost guard Chennedy Carter in the first quarter with an ankle injury. Atlanta's shining rookie was averaging 19.4 points per game, but was scoreless in three minutes before getting hurt.

DeWanna Bonner scored 12 points for Connecticut (2-6), and grabbed nine rebounds to move into 20th on the WNBA career list.

Shekinna Stricklen scored 18 points — all on 3-pointers in the first half — for Atlanta (2-6), which has lost five straight. Stricklen scored 12 of Atlanta’s first 14 points by making all four of her 3-point attempts in the first quarter. Courtney Williams added 12 points against her former team.