DeWanna Bonner hits career-high 7 3s, scores 23 as Sun beat Dream 80-67

Mohegan — DeWanna Bonner scored 23 points, hitting a career-high seven 3-pointers, to help the Connecticut Sun beat the Atlanta Dream 80-67 Sunday for their third win in a row. Tiffany Mitchell added 13 points and Brionna Jones scored 11 points for Connecticut. Alyssa Thomas added seven points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Mitchell and Bonner each hit a 3-pointer in a 9-0 run that made it 17-11 with 2:20 left in the first quarter and the Sun (17-4) led the rest of the way. Atlanta (7-13) beat the Sun 78-74 on June 28."Honestly, I've just been in the gym a lot working on 3s," said Bonner, who has been named to the WNBA All-Star Team for the second straight season. "I feel like I was missing ones that were very easy in the beginning of the season so, literally, that's all I work on after practice."... It was funny 'cause after the game (Atlanta's) Allisha Gray was like, 'You didn't have to hit all those 3s.' I'm like, 'Y'all beat us last time. We needed this win.' I liked the way we responded."Gray hit a mid-range pull-up jumper that cut Atlanta's deficit to 24-20 midway through the second quarter but Veronica Burton answered with a 3-pointer for Connecticut and Jones made a layup before Bonner hit again from behind the arc to give the Sun a 12-point lead. Connecticut led 34-24 at the half.The Dream made 4 of 11 from the field and committed five turnovers while scoring just eight points in the second quarter before Connecticut scored 33 points — one fewer than its first-half total — on 9-of-11 shooting in the third quarter to open an 18-point lead going into the fourth. Atlanta has lost four games in a row and seven of its last eight. Connecticut has won four of its last five games and is tied with the New York Liberty for the best record in the WNBA. New York, which beat the Sun 82-75 on June 8 to end Connecticut's nine-game win streak to open the season, visits Wednesday. Gray led Atlanta with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Tina Charles added 13 points and Nia Coffey 11. Rhyne Howard (ankle) — who is second on the Dream in scoring (15.4 per game) this season and leads the team in assists (3.4), steals (2.2) and blocks (0.8) — Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (foot), Aerial Powers (calf) and Jordin Canada (finger) did not play for Atlanta. Said Sun head coach Stephanie White of Bonner's performance: "I don't really ever worry about her because every time she shoots the ball, I think it's going in. I think more than anything, it's going through those reps to build your confidence, to see the ball go through the net."