#game 32

[mysticscrystalrevelation]

[mysticscrystalrevelation]

[mysticscrystalrevelation]

Game 32 Archived Sat, August 31 3:00pm EDT Connecticut @ Washington

Starting: WASH: Atkins, Dolson, Edwards, Sykes, Vanloo (Austin ankle injury) CONN: Bonner, Carrington, Harris, Jones, Thomas

1st Quarter I am ready for us to be back home after that ultimately successful but pretty chaotic road trip—even if we have to face our nemesis tonight. Christy Winters-Scott and Meghan McPeak will guide us through it. Right away there's a contrast in game approach—Connecticut going inside, Washington playing the perimeter or driving from there. The Sun are running a very practiced zone D. Carrington hits a 3, but it's because we adjusted to deny the paint, so hey. Aaliyah makes a beautiful drive and layup. Why does Stef not shoot the 3 over AT? Slim goes one-on-one with DiJonai and wins the matchup. JVL steals in the backcourt and Slim goes against Breezy this time—rewarded with a trip to the line. Energy is good, intensity is forcing turns. One fun advantage of our small arena is that you can hear the players. Veronica Burton checks in and hits a 3. Offensive fouls abound. Carrington gets another 3, meanwhile we have been cold from there. Slim goes to work again. It's fun to see defensive leaders on both sides drive the offense as well. Eric is rotating the bench in throughout the 1st like he did against the Sky. Carrington goes again. She's on one. We have been looking short with Austin injured and Stef sitting right now. Karlie gets a steal, misses the bunny but Shatori collects the ball and the foul. Jade plays some good D on DiJonai. Rare 1st quarter challenge after Karlie gets whistled and immediately says she didn't touch her. I don't usually trust the players completely in the heat of the moment but the replay shows clear daylight betweeen their entire bodies. Successful challenge. Karlie and Mabrey chatting about it. 3 point shooting the difference so far. 14-20.

2nd Quarter Karlie comes out and drills the 3. Maybe it's our turn this quarter. Breezy makes a ridiculous shot from directly under the net. Engstler sneaks in behind and puts it up. AT and Karlie just collided and AT is down. She never goes down :(. Oh snap, Ariel just poked the ball away, they find her in the corner, she draws 2 defenders and shoots the 3 in their face anyway. Tie game. Ty Harris kills the vibe with a response. BUT EARL GETS ANOTHER. Eat. Mabrey hits a 3 after a few DC turns and we're back down 7. DiJonai goes one-on-one with Slim but doesn't realize Stef is right behind her. Stef nonchalantly takes the ball and goes and shoots the 3. Thanks, pal. DC with an absolutely inexcusable shot clock violation. If you're scared to shoot you can sit. Bonner hits a deep 3 now and Eric calls time. I'm still confused why we aren't running specific plays for the 3 ball. Huge block from Sykes, who misses a layup and then gets trucked by her own teammate going after the rebound. I know the Sun are a good defensive team, but it's frustrating to watch them give us things that we don't take. We've taken advantage sometimes but there's plenty more there. 42-45.

3rd Quarter Stef drains a 3 to start the 2nd half and tie the game, something she has a habit of doing. Mabrey hits back, twice, thrice. Yikes. Timeout. The Sun score immediately out of the timeout. Now Sykes is down after going in for a ill-advised drive and they score again, 11-0 run. Slim is carried off. JVL and Engstler combine to pick the pace way up and the defense does seem flustered, but we miss the eventual shot. Engstler makes a 3 and Mabrey finally misses. JVL gets a steal. The misses are racking up though. Karlie steal. Mabrey hits a 3. Shatori answers! Slim and AT are both back on the benches but questionable. Sika gets a clutch jumper and then a tip steal after a couple poor sequences from the team. Not sure why we have such an inexperienced group on the floor right now. Ok Stef just returned. Why is Ariel sitting? We can't make a shot. Sika steals again and we find Stef for a desperately needed 3. Still an 11-point deficit. Bonner is given just a little space on a defensive miscommunication and puts down the answering shot. Lol Sika just took a near half-court shot and got lightly tagged by Bonner. She makes 2 of 3 free throws and Jado gets the final rebound, almost making a buzzer 3 to keep us in this one. 62-76.

4th Quarter Harris goes 3, followed by Burton. This one is disappearing. Well hey, Jado gets in on the 3 action. Now Earl! Massive. Jade gets another! Do I detect a whisper of hope? In the 4th? I mean, we're still down 11 with a unbelievably bad track record… Slim is back on the floor and right away takes a charge from Carrington. Engstler hits a 3 now. 14-2 run. The Sun have been giving us space on the perimeter—these makes are mostly unmarked. The same thing happens again and Stef takes her turn. We will keep teaching you until you learn. Stef is subbed out now. Why? I don't get it. Ugh, Sykes again goes for a drive into a crowd under the hoop and unsurprisingly misses. Fortunately for us, DiJonai follows suit on the other end. Shatori goes 3 off a rebound from a free throw miss by Edwards. Meanwhile, Connecticut have shot 22/22 from the foul line. Frankly, it could've been worse. 85-96 final.

[mysticscrystalrevelation]

[anaducks]

That goal was Cogliano's 100th point as a Duck!

[anaducks]

The Ducks win 7 in a row! That is the second 7 game win streak of the season! And 5th since last year!

[anaducks]

Cogliano scores into the empty net!

[anaducks]

Ducks down a man and the Jets pull the goalie, and it's Lindholm and Vatanen on the ice to start the kill. That's how good these two have been this season.