Thomas's career-high 31 leads Sun past Aces 87-62 in Game 1

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Jasmine Thomas had a career-high 31 points, Alyssa Thomas scored 18, and the Connecticut Sun pulled away early and cruised to an 87-62 win over the Las Vegas Aces in Game of 1 of the best-of-five WNBA semifinals Sunday.

Alyssa Thomas had six rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocks. Natisha Hiedeman made 4 of 4 from 3-point range and finished with 14 points for Connecticut.

The seventh-seeded Sun lost their first five games, and six of seven, but rebounded to make the playoffs. They beat No. 6 seed Chicago and third-seeded Los Angeles in the first two rounds of the postseason.

A'ja Wilson led top-seeded Las Vegas with 19 points and Jackie Young scored 16.

Beatrice Mompremier made a layup to make it 12-10 and the Sun led the rest of the way. A 3-pointer by Jasmine Thomas gave Connecticut a 13-point lead with 1:28 left in the first half and the Aces trailed by double figures the rest of the way. She made a layup with 6:30 to in the third quarter give her 29 points and Las Vegas 29.

Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday night. The other semifinal between Minnesota and Seattle was postponed about 90 minutes before tip when the Storm had players with inconclusive COVID-19 tests. The players with inconclusive results have undergone additional testing and are in isolation, according to the WNBA.

The WNBA announced earlier Sunday that Las Vegas' Dearica Hamby won the sixth woman of the year award and Aces general manager Dan Padover was given the executive of the year award.