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After making a key contribution in last weekend's All-Star game, Connecticut's Katie Douglas hopes she can make a similar impact for the Sun, who open the second half of the season on Tuesday at home against the Minnesota Lynx. Douglas was the Eastern Conference's leading scorer in Sunday's WNBA All-Star game, adding 18 points off the bench to help the East win 103-99. She hit four 3-pointers, including two in a 72-second span to push the lead to 99-87 with 2:26 left. Asjha Jones also represented the Sun (9-11) in Sunday's game, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds. In her seventh season, Douglas is averaging a team-leading 16.8 points for Connecticut. She helped the Sun close the first half of the season with three straight wins, including a 14-point effort in an 82-78 overtime victory over the Sacramento Monarchs on Thursday. The Sun are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Indiana Fever, and if they hope to make a move, they'll have to start playing better at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The team plays five straight and eight of its next nine at home, where Connecticut is just 2-6, tying it with Chicago for the fewest home wins in the WNBA. Connecticut, however, has won three of four at home against the Lynx, who carry a six-game losing streak into this game. Minnesota has the WNBA's worst record at 5-16, and the team's losing streak is its second longest of the season. The Lynx opened the year 0-7. They also will be without rookie Lindsey Harding. This year's No. 1 draft pick tore the ACL in her left knee last Tuesday, and an MRI confirmed the tear on Thursday. Harding, the team's third-leading scorer at 11.7 points per game, will miss the remainder of the season. "It is extremely upsetting to see my first season in the WNBA end this way," said Harding, who was leading all rookies in scoring. "I will work as hard as I can to rehab my knee, and I will definitely be back next season." Harding's absence will place greater pressure on Seimone Augustus, the WNBA's second-leading scorer at 22.0 points per game. Augustus had eight points, seven rebounds and two steals in Sunday's All-Star game. She scored six of her 28 points in overtime in Minnesota's last meeting with the Sun on June 13, a 77-73 victory. That victory ended Minnesota's four-game losing streak against the Sun, whose average margin of victory in those contests was 15.8 points. The Lynx lead the all-time series 8-7.
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