UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Guard Becky Hammon scored 20 points to lead the San Antonio Silver Stars past the Connecticut Sun 71-58 on Saturday night.

Forward Sophia Young added 17 points and eight rebounds for San Antonio. Douglas and Lindsay Whalen led the Sun with 15 points each.

Connecticut jumped out an 4-0 lead, but San Antonio quickly matched that and the teams traded baskets for the next seven minutes to end the first quarter tied at 17.

The Silver Stars pulled away in the second quarter with an 8-0 run, holding the Sun without a field goal for more than three minutes.

Strong free throw shooting helped Connecticut battle back over the final five minutes of the first half. The Sun made 7-of-8 in the closing minutes of the second quarter, and a lay-up by Katie Douglas in the final second before the break cut the lead to 39-36.

“After the first half, we thought we could play a lot better,” Hammon said. “We ranked ourselves and we didn’t give ourselves a very good grade on the first half. We knew we had to play a better second half.”

San Antonio lead the entire third quarter. The Sun appeared on the verge of tying the game after narrowing the gap to 52-50, but a pair of baskets by Hammon within a 14-second span in the final minute of the quarter extended San Antonio’s lead to 56-50.

The Silver Stars carried that momentum into the fourth quarter, outscoring the Sun 15-8.

“We are shooting the ball awful,” Connecticut coach Mike Thibault said. “Somewhere along the line someone on our bench has got to step up. … That hasn’t happened yet.”

Sun forward Nykesha Sales, averaging 14.3 points, missed the game because of a sore ankle and Achilles’ heel. Thibault said he expects her back soon.

AP-ES-06-23-07 2206EDT