Connecticut Sun clinch WNBA Finals berth with late comeback vs. Chicago Sky

By Sep 8, 2022, 10:25 PM EDT
Connecticut Sun v Chicago Sky - Game Five
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The Chicago Sky hosted the Connecticut Sun on Thursday night for the decisive fifth game in their WNBA semifinal series. On Her Turf provided live updates and highlights; see below to relive how the game unfolded.

Chicago Sky vs. Connecticut Sun: Fourth Quarter Highlights

7:20 Q4: The Chicago Sky are making this look like a game of keep away. Emma Meesseman makes it an 11-point game.

3:46 4Q: Oof. Kahleah Copper and DeWanna Bonner getting into it after Bonner scores. But after a long review, no foul is called. That is a huge sigh of relief for Copper, who would have missed game one of the WNBA Finals if she had gotten a technical. Chicago leads 63-56.

3:20 4Q: And the Connecticut Sun are not going home without a fight. DeWanna Bonner and Natisha Hiedeman with two big baskets just now. The Sun have cut the deficit to four.

2:24 4Q: TIE GAME. What!! After Alyssa Thomas capitalizes on two free throws, Natisha Hiedeman evens the score, 63-63.

2:00: Wow. Connecticut leads 66-63. On a 9-0 run since that scuffle between Copper and Bonner.

0:20.4: And Connecticut has extended the lead to seven after DeWanna Bonner makes two free throws.

0:00 4Q: Connecticut wins 72-63. Wow. What a comeback. And we are guaranteed to have a first-time WNBA champion. Both the Sun and Las Vegas Aces are aiming to win their first ever WNBA title.

After the game, DeWanna Bonner tells media that the Sun found their confidence in game four. “We wanted this one bad. We come up here every year and Chicago kicks our ass,” she says.

Chicago Sky vs. Connecticut Sun: Third Quarter Highlights

4:14 Q3: After Candace Parker hits a three, Kahleah Copper widens the gap to seven (video below). Chicago leads 54-46.

0:00 Q3: That quarter felt like a revenge tour for the Chicago Sky. The defending WNBA champs lead 58-48.

Chicago Sky vs. Connecticut Sun: Second Quarter Highlights

6:14 Q2: Wild how quickly a lead can shrink. The Sky now trail by just three points (30-27) thanks to some great shooting from Emma Meesseman and Courtney Vandersloot.

3:39 Q2: And Chicago fans are not happy. Candace Parker called for a foul — with a very late whistle — after stealing the ball away.

2:26 Q2: And for the first time since Courtney Vandersloot‘s opening bucket, the Chicago Sky lead. Kahleah Copper, the 2021 WNBA Finals MVP, ties it with a three-pointer and then gives Chicago the lead with a layup.

0:10.8 Q2: WHERE DID SHE COME FROM?! Kahleah Copper does a great job intercepting a Connecticut pass and finishes with a layup.

0:00 Q2: At the end of the first half, it’s a tie game, 40-40. What else would you expect when the series is tied 2-2?

Chicago Sky vs. Connecticut Sun: First Quarter Highlights

9:11 Q1: The Chicago Sky get on the board first with a jump shot from Courtney Vandersloot (video below).

5:18 Q1: A nice run from the Connecticut Sun, and especially Natisha Hiedeman, who already has eight points tonight. Sun lead 16-9.

0:00 Q1: At the end of the first quarter, Connecticut leads 24-16. Some sloppy moments at the end, but the Sun certainly made an early statement that Tuesday’s blowout win was no fluke.

WNBA Semifinals – What’s at Stake

  • The Chicago Sky are the defending WNBA champions and could become the first team in 20 years to win back-to-back titles.
  • The Connecticut Sun are aiming to win the franchise’s first ever WNBA title. The Sun have previously qualified for the WNBA Finals three times (most recently in 2019).

Chicago Sky vs. Connecticut Sun: Semifinal Results (Series Tied 2-2)

  • Game 1: Connecticut won, 68-63
  • Game 2: Chicago won, 85-77
  • Game 3: Chicago won, 76-72
  • Game 4: Connecticut won, 104-80

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Justine Wong-Orantes’ atypical path to becoming one of the best liberos in the world

By Sep 26, 2022, 5:28 PM EDT
Justine Wong-Orantes hits the ball in the women's semi-final volleyball match between USA and Serbia during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
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It’s been 20 years since the same nation held both the Olympic and world volleyball titles at the same time, but libero Justine Wong-Orantes is looking to help lead Team USA accomplish that very feat at the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championships in the Netherlands and Poland. Competition began on Friday and the U.S. is currently 2-0 after group play wins against Kazakhstan and Canada.

“We’re trying to win, for sure,” Wong-Orantes told On Her Turf. “I think, especially with the new turn of the program and the new year of the quad, we just have a really nice blend of veterans and also newcomers on the team.”

The 14-woman roster for Team USA, which is ranked No. 1 in the world and won its first Olympic title last summer, features six players from that gold-medal-winning team. And while Wong-Orantes is among the 2021 U.S. Olympic team veterans, she’s still a relative newcomer to international play.

The Southern California native enjoyed a notable junior career – she was 12 when she became the youngest female to ever earn an AAA rating in beach volleyball – and was a standout collegian at Nebraska, where she was a member of the 2015 NCAA championship team. But Wong-Orantes followed a different path upon graduation, initially choosing not to go overseas to play professionally.

While she was first selected for the U.S. national team in 2016 and played a handful of international tournaments in the following years, it wasn’t until she started playing professionally in Germany in 2019 that she saw the potential to elevate her position on the roster. In particular, the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics gave her an additional year of overseas experience, which she calls “a blessing in disguise.”

“I just felt like I was still in that developmental stage,” she said. “And a whole year postponement allowed me to go overseas and really get all the touches, all the repetitions, and just kind of expose myself to international volleyball another year. So I was, in hindsight, pretty thankful for that COVID season because I got an extra year under my belt, and I think that just gave me a ton of confidence.”

Ahead of the Olympics, Wong-Orantes earned “best libero” honors at the 2021 FIVB Volleyball National League in Rimini, Italy, which helped secure her spot on the Olympic roster. In Tokyo, she followed up with another standout performance and was named best libero of the Olympic tournament.

As to how the Wong-Orantes transformed into one of the world’s top liberos, she points to her background as a beach volleyball player. She began competing at age 8, and her first partner was Sara Hughes, a star on the AVP Pro Tour who also won two NCAA titles with USC.

“I think having that background and just the court awareness that beach volleyball forces you to have allowed me to really have a good read on the game,” said Wong-Orantes. “I think that’s what makes a great libero is just reading and always being reactive towards the ball.”

Wong-Orantes also credits the assistance of mental coach Sue Enquist, a former UCLA softball coach and U.S. national team coach, who now helps teams work on their culture and relationships. Enquist began working with the U.S. volleyball team during the pandemic and has continued in her role ever since.

“We just worked on a lot of stuff within ourselves, within our program, how to communicate with each other off the court, and I think that honestly propelled us into such a high, high level with how we worked with each other, and then that transferred onto the court,” explained Wong-Orantes, who noted the team has Enquist on speed dial while at the World Championship. “I really commend Sue. I just really give a lot of praise to her because I think our culture was never bad, but I think [she] just transformed into a different level.”

2022-09-26 - FIVB Volleyball Womens World Championship 2022 - Day 4
ARNHEM, NETHERLANDS – Justine Wong-Orantes (far right) poses for a photo with her U.S. teammates after defeating Canada at the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship on September 26, 2022. (Photo by Rene Nijhuis/Orange Pictures/BSR Agency/Getty Images)

Wong-Orantes said she and her U.S. teammates are on their toes for the world championships, which features twice as many teams (24) as the Olympics and a “more grueling” format.

“It’s going to be a long tournament, and I think we’re really going to need all 14 of us that are here. I’m pretty certain that, at any given moment, someone’s going to be called on and someone’s going to need to step up in big moments.”

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2022 Ascendant LPGA: How to watch, who’s playing in Texas’s annual signature event

By Sep 26, 2022, 4:48 PM EDT
Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand hits her second shot on the 16th hole during the final round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
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The LPGA make its annual stop in The Colony, Texas, this week for the 10th edition of the Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America, where Thailand’s 19-year-old rookie Atthaya Thitikul comes in hot off her second career win and second playoff victory this season at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

Leading the 132-player field at Old American Golf Club, located at Golf Clubs at The Tribute, are Texas residents and past champions Cheyenne Knight and Angela Stanford. They’ll compete for the $1.7 million prize purse alongside major champions Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson. Last year’s Ascendant LPGA champion, world No. 1 Jin Young Ko, will not be defending her title after announcing earlier this month she would be missing several weeks due to a nagging wrist injury.

This past weekend in Arkansas, Thitikul took the lead with a 10-under 61 in the second round and shot 68 in the final round to finish regulation tied with Danielle Kang at 17-under 196. Thitikul, who won the JTBC Classic in March in a two-hole playoff vs. Nanna Koerstz Madsen, drained an 8-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to secure the win over Kang.

How to watch the 2022 Ascendant LPGA 

Coverage of the 2022 Ascendant LPGA from Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas, can be found on Golf Channel, with streaming options available any time on any mobile device and online through NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

  • Thursday, Sept. 29: 12:30-3:30 p.m. ET, Golf Channel
  • Friday, Sept. 30: 12:30-3:30 p.m. ET, Golf Channel
  • Saturday, Oct. 1: 1-4 p.m. ET, Golf Channel
  • Sunday, Oct. 2: 1-4 p.m. ET, Golf Channel

Who’s playing in the 2022 Ascendant LPGA

Six of the top 10 players in the Rolex World Rankings are among the field in Texas, including:

  • No. 2 Nelly Korda
  • No. 4 Lydia Ko
  • No. 5 Atthaya Thitikul
  • No. 6 Brooke Henderson
  • No. 7 Lexi Thompson
  • No. 10 Nasa Hataoka

A number of local Texans also are in the tournament, headlined by past champions, Angela Stanford (2020) and Cheyenne Knight (2019), and two junior champions of the Volunteers of America Classic Girls Championship, who are playing on a sponsor exemption: Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang (2022), a freshman at SMU, and Avery Zweig (2021), a high school sophomore from McKinney, Texas.

Past five champions of The Ascendant LPGA

YEAR WINNER SCORE MARGIN RUNNERUP
2021 Jin Young Ko (South Korea) 16-under 268 1 stroke Matilda Castren
2020 Angela Stanford (USA) 7-under 277 2 strokes So Yeon Ryu, Inbee Park, Yealimi Noh
2019 Cheyenne Knight (USA) 18-under 266 2 strokes Brittany Altomare, Jaye Marie Green
2018 Sung Hyun Park (South Korea) 11-under 131 1 stroke Lindy Duncan
2017 Haru Nomura (Japan) 3-under 281 Playoff Christie Kerr

Last time at The Ascendant LPGA

South Korea’s Jin Young Ko carded a final-round 69 to maintain her 54-hole lead at Old American Golf Club and held on for a one stroke win at the 2021 Volunteers of America Classic, her eighth career LPGA tour title. Ko finished regulation at 16-under 268, edging Finland’s Matilda Castren by one stroke.

It kicked off a five-win season for Ko, who had just lost her No. 1 ranking to Nelly Korda the week prior after holding the top spot for 100 straight weeks. She regained the No. 1 ranking back in October 2021, after earning her fourth win in seven starts at the BMW Ladies Championship.

More about Old American Golf Club

Opened in 2010, the Old American Golf Club is one of two clubs at The Tribute, a lakefront resort community on Lewisville Lake in The Colony, Texas. Designed by Tripp Davis and 12-time PGA Tour winner Justin Leonard, Old American plays as a Par 71 and stretches to 6,475 yards on the tournament scorecard.

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