Connecticut's luster from a 13-1 start is starting to wear off. The Sun have lost three of their last four games after losing 78-74 to the Atlanta Dream on Friday night in front of more than 7,000 fans at Mohegan Sun Arena.

It hasn't been an easy road for the Sun over the last two weeks. Connecticut traveled to Las Vegas and Seattle and lost tough games. The Sun had leads in both games but were worn down by the host teams.

After a 94-91 overtime win over Washington on Thursday, the Sun played their first back-to-back games of the season.

And it's not getting any easier. The Sun return west to face Phoenix on Monday night, then face Minnesota in Minneapolis next Thursday before returning to Connecticut for three games to close out the first half of the season before the Olympic break.

The chance to win was there on Friday against Atlanta. The game was tied 11 times and the lead changed 16 times. The Sun had a two-point lead with 3:41 left and cut the lead to one point with 2:09 left, but couldn't get through.

“We had chances and a few plays here and there, timely turnovers, missed execution,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “And Atlanta made plays and made shots when they needed to, especially in the second half and at the end.”

Atlanta's Alisha Gray made some great plays in the final two minutes. With 1:44 left in the game, she hit a dead-on jump shot from 17 feet out to extend Atlanta's one-point lead to three, 70-67.

At the other end of the court, she blocked a three-point attempt by Connecticut's DiJonai Carrington, setting off a counterattack in the other direction for the Dream (7-9). Jordin Canada hit two three-pointers and the lead was five points, 72-67, with 1:18 left.

Atlanta led by three points, 74-71, with 38 seconds left to play after Bonner sank two free throws. The Sun had a chance to tie, but Ty Harris' three-pointer bounced off the front of the rim and landed in the hands of a Dream defender.

“When you play the second half of back-to-back games, execution is paramount and they executed better in the second half,” White said.

Gray led the Dream with 17 points, while former Sun MVP and first-round pick Tina Charles had 14 points.

Bonner led the Sun (14-4) with 17 points, while Carrington scored 15 points, including 3 of 6 three-pointers. She had a career-high three steals. Alyssa Thomas had 14 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Harris had a bad night, sinking just two of nine shots for six points.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored seven points, grabbed two rebounds and secured one possession in her eleven minutes as a substitute.

The score was 19-19 after one quarter, with Alyssa Thomas adding four rebounds and four assists in ten minutes. The Sun outscored the Dream by two points in the second quarter, 14-12, and went into the locker room with a two-point lead, 33-31.

With seven minutes left, Connecticut was able to build a four-point lead (62-58) over Atlanta, but Atlanta finished the game with a 20-12 lead over Connecticut and took the win 78-74.

Both teams had trouble keeping the ball, with the Sun losing it 18 times and the Dream losing it 19 times. However, Atlanta was able to capitalize more on turnovers, scoring 17 points off Connecticut's 18 errors while Connecticut scored just 14 points off Atlanta's errors.

The Sun's 23 field goals and 26 rebounds represent new season lows. Connecticut's starters were responsible for 17 of the team's 18 turnovers.

On Thursday night, the Sun trailed by as many as 16 points in Washington, the largest deficit the team has overcome in a win this season. Washington led Connecticut 82-75 with 2:37 left in regulation, but the Sun finished Game 4 with seven points and no goals allowed, forcing overtime.

The final five minutes of the game were neck and neck, but Connecticut prevailed and took home the win against Washington 12-9 in overtime.

Bonner was the Sun's leading scorer, finishing with her second double-double of the season, posting 24 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Harris also had a career-high 23 points, one rebound, one assist and four steals.

Carrington finished the game with 22 points, which was her season high. She scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half and overtime, including 10 of the Sun's 12 points in overtime. Carrington finished the game with four three-pointers, which was her season high.

Veronica Burton made waves as a substitute with nine points and five assists. In the final seconds of regulation time, she also received a crucial offensive foul against Washington's Julie Vanloo, forcing overtime.