Haley

Peters

The degree of difficulty for a majority of Mabrey’s shots contributed to her inefficiency on Friday night against the wings. She tried to drive and score in a clogged paint in addition to taking shots where she didn’t have much separation. The two field goals she made were either off the catch or as a result of a screening action. With 2:37 left in the second quarter, Mabrey hit a step-back three on the left wing that came as a result from a screen from teammate Haley Peters that gave her more room to set her shot. While her shot wasn’t falling, she still found a way to facilitate. She found Jacy Sheldon in transition, and Charles in her spots near the basket. Toward the end of second quarter, Mabrey’s left knee buckled, and during halftime she was ruled as questionable to return. She returned to start in the third quarter, however, playing 13 of her 29 minutes in the second half.

Sun head coach Rachid Meziane has made a change to his starting lineup, replacing Olivia Nelson-Ododa with Peters. This will be Peters’ second start of the season, the first coming on June 8 against the Mystics. She only played 14 minutes in that contest and has played at least 20 minutes in just three of her 11 appearances. Fantasy managers should not expect Peters to receive too much of a boost, despite the lineup change. The other change to Connecticut’s lineup is Rivers, who is back in the starting five with Bria Hartley being bumped to the bench. Jacy Sheldon and Marina Mabrey will initiate the offense for the Sun.

Nelson-Ododa is back after missing Connecticut’s most recent game, a June 8 loss to the Mystics. Her return means Haley Peters will come off the bench. Peters did not provide much streaming value in her spot start, and that will remain the case on Sunday.

Injured during a June 6 win over the Dream, Nelson-Ododa did not play against the Mystics two days later. The week off appears to have done Connecticut’s starting center some good, as she’s probable to play against the Sky. Nelson-Ododa’s return would bump Haley Peters back to the bench. Against Washington, Peters played 14 minutes and went scoreless with one steal.

Iriafen had a field day attacking both the smaller Haley Peters and less defensively inclined Tina Charles in the first quarter. She scored eight of her 12 points taking it to the Sun’s two starting bigs. When Aaliyah Edwards checked into the game in the second quarter, Iriafen’s scoring was limited. Again this is the Mystics’ dilemma: they have three talented young players who all play the same position. Shakira Austin can play the center, but she’s also been played at the power forward spot. In the third quarter, however, when Brittney Sykes scored 17 of her 28 points, Iriafen made sure to impact the game without scoring. She set meaningful screens that allowed for Sykes to get downhill.

Should Sheldon go back to starting? For Sunday’s game Haley Peters got the start simply because the Mystics have a dynamic and plentiful amount of bigs, and Olivia Nelson- Ododa wasn’t available. But if the Sun want to score more than 70 points (they average 72.5 so far this season), maybe Sheldon playing starters minutes might provide some better spacing. 13 of Sheldon’s points came in the second half once the game was out of reach for the Sun.

Nelson-Ododa is out after the Sun listed her as questionable on the initial injury report. The veteran center’s absence opens up a spot on the starting lineup, with Haley Peters filling the void. Also, Kariata Diaby and Aneesah Morrow should pick up additional minutes off the bench.

Kariata Diaby started the second half for the Sun in place of the injured Nelson-Ododa, who exited Friday’s game in the first half before being ruled out for the remainder of the game. Nelson-Ododa had been questionable coming into Friday’s contest due to an ankle injury, but ended up giving it a go against Atlanta, scoring two points and registering three steals in 12 minutes before not being able to finish. Given her status prior to the game, this injury will be worth monitoring in the coming days. Diaby, Aneesah Morrow and Haley Peters are names who could fill in her spot should she miss any time.

Nelson-Ododa was among the few Sun players who established anything offensively, as the team shot 31.3 percent from the field. Interestingly, she only played 21 minutes after logging a season-high 28 in Friday’s loss to the Lynx. Backup Haley Peters only played eight minutes and did not record any statistics, but Nelson-Ododa’s playing time is worth tracking, especially with Aneesah Morrow back from a knee injury. Connecticut will host Dallas on Tuesday in a battle of 0-4 teams.