Posts

Sun 84, Sparks 81: The band is finally together (almost)

Image
There is an alternate universe where Saturday night’s game against Los Angeles in Hartford was a celebration of things to come. After all, the WNBA had recently announced that the heritage of Connecticut (“the basketball capital of the world”) and the need for a northeastern franchise led them to keep the Sun in the state and move full-time to Peoples Bank Arena starting in 2027. That’s not the way it went down, of course, the Sun are off to Houston, which will probably sting forever. But that’s in the future, at least. For one night, things were as they should be, kind of. While it wasn’t sold out (attendance for a non-marquee matchup for a lame duck franchise is always going to be tough), the old Hartford Civic Center was loud, the Sun played some exciting basketball, and eventually pulled out its second win of the campaign. Beating a middle of the pack team without its best player (Kelsey Plum) at home is not exactly a fast track to the playoffs, but Connecticut looked a lot more li...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fire 71, Sun 61: Better effort, but still nothing to show

Image
You could probably sum up the 2026 Connecticut Sun in one possession: Trailing 60-57 with under three minutes left Wednesday, Aneesah Morrow could not get a runner to go, but grabbed her own rebound (one of 8 offensive rebounds on the night). When she missed from short range a second time, Olivia Nelson-Ododa snagged the rebound and found a wide open Diamond Miller, who looked to tie the game, but missed from three. But Saniya Rivers swooped in, and kicked to Morrow, who was also wide open from behind the arc, however you know how it ended. The rest was downhill for the Sun, who finished (mercifully) its dreadful offensive road trip by shooting 1-for-21 from behind the arc. They at least battled all the way through and forced 19 turnovers, albeit against an expansion team, but it’s brutal right now on the offensive end, and although they’re been on the road for five games, they have played a favorable schedule and still sit at the bottom of the league. But even with everything going on...
Post a Comment
Read more

Valkyries 97, Sun 70: Natalie Nakase won Coach of the Year for a reason

Image
Probably keep this short and sweet to keep from repeating ourselves over and over. The Sun actually got off to a really good offensive start Monday at Golden State which was mildly surprising, but even though Connecticut was in the game early, there was no indication it was going to last. One thing that was striking was how much more organized Golden State was on both ends of the floor. Defensively, the Valkyries were completely locked in, speeding the Sun up and forcing them into shots they didn’t want when they weren’t turning it over. At the other end, the Sun tried desperately to chase the Valkyries off the three-point line, only to give up several layups and then get buried from the three-point line anyway. Golden State has an identity, led by Natalie Nakase, who picked up a well-deserved Coach of the Year last season, and now should have the Valkyries as a sleeper for a WNBA title this season, and even if she doesn’t get it in 2026 or 2027, I’m not betting against it coming event...
Post a Comment
Read more

Storm 77, Sun 59: Do we fix the offense or defense first? Probably offense

Image
We’ve talked a lot about on-ball defense in these parts and it really wasn’t any better Friday night, as Seattle guards got to the rim at will against Charlisse Leger-Walker and Hailey Van Lith. (“We didn’t dictate,” Rachid Meziane said after the game. “We let them do whatever they want. Defense is first taking pride in one-on-one.”) But unfortunately there was a bigger issue at play, one that was huge last season with or without Leila Lacan, and that is shooting the ball. The Sun shot 37% from the field Friday (23-for-62), some of that due to hitting some shots with the game already decided, and went 4-for-17 from behind the arc. The offense, bereft of anyone that can score on their own (we do miss Marina Mabrey for that, even if her advanced stats were awful), looked completely lost.  Connecticut is actually not last in three-point percentage currently in the WNBA, sitting 12th at 28.6%, although it’s hard to expect Van Lith to keep up her 53.3% pace, the Sun do have some options...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sun 80, Storm 78: No idea how, but Sun are on the board in the win column

Image
If you looked up late at the Connecticut-Seattle game Wednesday night on the east coast, you might be rubbing your eyes. Nell Angloma and Reagan Beers were leading the way for the Sun? Aneesah Morrow was benched after six minutes? The bench scored 64 points and Saniya Rivers had just two? Ashlon Jackson - in her first WNBA game - was making huge plays down the stretch? It added up to the first Connecticut win of 2026, finally, a gutty 80-78 victory in Seattle that will not exactly scare anyone in the WNBA nor likely solve any long-term problems, but it’s sure better than losing. In the end, Angloma (who doesn’t turn 20 until next month) led the Sun in minutes, with Charlisse Leger-Walker (29), undrafted Beers (28), and Angloma (27, tied with Aaliyah Edwards) not far behind. Morrow - whose body language left more than a little to be desired - didn’t appear in the second half, and Rivers had just 13 minutes, two less than Ashlon Jackson, who was signed on a developmental contract two wee...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fire 83, Sun 82: Baffling lineups down the stretch that made little sense from the outside

Image
The Sun were in a tight game against a shorthanded, but very motivated expansion Portland team Monday night, and you looked up with five minutes left to see a lineup of Charlisse Leger-Walker, Hailey Van Lith, Saniya Rivers, Aneesah Morrow, and Brittany Griner. It seemed (and has seemed) clear that Leger-Walker and Van Lith can’t keep good WNBA point guards in front of them, which isn’t the end all, be all of everything, however it’s made things difficult for Griner, who can’t really hard hedge many pick-and-roll actions at this stage of her career. If you add in the fact that Portland has a young coach in Alex Sarama, who clearly thinks his team’s best chance as an expansion squad is to pressure opponents into mistakes (how the Sun were successful at the end of last season). Leger-Walker had a nightmare against it, turning the ball over a couple times, almost doing it a couple more, and finally just giving up on taking the ball up the court altogether. Van Lith was a little more savvy...
Post a Comment
Read more

Aces 101, Sun 94: At least a glimmer of hope

Image
  It was just a moment, but it will have to sustain us, at least until the Connecticut Sun get back to full strength (if they ever do). Playing without Brittany Griner, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and Leila Lacan, it looked like the Sun were going to be on the losing end of another name-your-score blowout, trailing 72-59 late in the third quarter with an extremely young lineup that looked lost just two days earlier against the same opponent. But then Nell Angloma - not even 20 and making her WNBA debut - exploded for a bucket, and then Saniya Rivers, who looked miserable to start the season before Friday, found Angloma again for a layup. Charlisse Leger-Walker got a steal and Rivers hesitated before finally shooting a three-pointer and drilling it. Almost immediately, you could see a weight lifted off Rivers’ shoulders as her defensive intensity picked up and she hit another three to make it 72-70, forcing Becky Hammon to call time out. Maybe there was a way for the Sun to win this thing?...
Post a Comment
Read more