Alyssa Thomas Saves Connecticut’s Season, Drops Triple-Double in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals

The Connecticut Sun heard everyone talking about how they were about to get swept out of the WNBA Finals and said, “Not today.” Led by Alyssa Thomas’ historic performance, the Sun saved their season with a 105-76 win over the Las Vegas Aces.

Las Vegas has been the best team all season and looked ready to finally grab that elusive title Thursday night, but they just weren’t able to keep up with the Sun. The Aces started on a 9-2 run, then Connecticut took over, and that was it. The No. 1 seed was never in the game. It was a shocking turn of events by a team who have been in control throughout the postseason. Head coach Becky Hammon lamented the team’s lack of energy in her post-game press conference.

“If you could encapsulate Connecticut, it’s physical and very resilient,” she said, per ESPN. “They have kind of a battle-type mentality, and we didn’t match that tonight, in any category. They just kicked our ass in every way possible.”

Sun forward Thomas held off the Aces’ championship coronation with a triple-double, dropping 16 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. That was Thomas’ third triple-double of the season and the first in WNBA Finals history.

“For me, I approached the game like I approached any other game,” Thomas said. “I think we just wanted it. We’ve been struggling offensively. We haven’t really been hitting shots and tonight we came out ready.”

As good as Thomas was, it was truly a team effort for Connecticut, with all their starters scoring in double digits. Jones led the way with 20 points, while DeWanna Bonner, who rebounded from rough performances in the first two games, had 18 points. Natisha Hiedeman dropped 14 points and DiJonai Carrington had 12.

Las Vegas’ stars did what they could, with 2022 MVP A’ja Wilson getting 19 points, Jackie Young with 22 and Kelsy Plum delivering 17. However, it just wasn’t enough to overcome Connecticut’s unrelenting offense.

It wasn’t all bad news for Wilson since she was also named to the All-WNBA First Team for the third time in a row. She is joined by her teammate Plum, the Seattle Storm’s Breanna Stewart, the Chicago Sky’s Candace Parker and the Phoenix Mercury’s Skylar Diggins-Smith.

Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, featuring the Las Vegas Aces vs the Connecticut Sun, airs Sunday, Sept. 18 at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN.