Alyssa Thomas recorded her sixth triple-double of the season and captured the single-season assists mark as the Connecticut Sun beat the Los Angeles Sparks 90-76 on Tuesday night.
The Sun’s point forward had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists, giving her 304 for the season to break the record Courtney Vandersloot set in 2019 when she had 300 for the Chicago Sky.
Vandersloot, now with the New York Liberty, again reached 300 assists in Tuesday night’s 94-93 win over the Dallas Wings.
Thomas and the Sun have two games left in the regular season, as do Vandersloot and the Liberty. This is the first season each WNBA team is playing 40 games; teams played 34 games in 2019.
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DeWanna Bonner added 25 points and Tiffany Hayes scored 13 for Connecticut (26-12), which is locked into the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.
Thomas was 11-of-13 from the field and had six steals.
Los Angeles (16-22) dropped into a tie with the Sky for eighth in the WNBA standings with two games remaining. The Sparks continue their three-game road trip at the Liberty on Thursday, followed by a visit to the Seattle Storm to close the regular season Sunday. The Sky hold the tiebreaker with the Sparks.
Azura Stevens and Dearica Hamby each scored 18 points for Los Angeles. Layshia Clarendon and Rae Burrell added 13 points apiece. Nneka Ogwumike (knee) again did not play.
Connecticut led 49-36 at the break after shooting 54% from the field, including 6-of-12 from 3-point range. Bonner scored 15 points in the first half and Thomas had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists. Four of Los Angeles’ 12 field goals were from 3-point range.
Los Angeles got within 72-66 early in the fourth quarter, but Thomas answered with a layup and found Hayes for a 3-pointer on the Sun’s next possession to regain a double-digit lead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.