Storm 101, Sun 85: More unacceptable defense as opponents hit 100 for sixth time

You can evaluate what the Connecticut Sun will have to do to eventually return to the WNBA playoffs, whether it be 2026, 2027, or (gulp) 2028, but no matter how you slice or crunch the numbers, it’s going to come from defending at a high level.

Unless you can recruit a superteam (see: New York Liberty), an elite defense is the way back to WNBA prominence, and even the Liberty were third in defensive efficiency last season (behind Connecticut and Minnesota) on the way to the title last season.


While it’s not solely that way, a lot of defense is effort, which is what makes efforts like Monday’s 101-85 loss to Seattle (and it wasn’t nearly that close) so frustrating as a Sun fan, the sixth time Connecticut has given up 100 points in a game this season (and fourth at home) against a team that was struggling mightily on the offensive end.


And if Seattle had come out and just went lights out from three-point range (as the Liberty did in that infamous 100-52 rout last month), you might be able to live with it, but that was not nearly the case Monday. The Storm shot 33-for-49 (67.3%), and that was after Seattle missed three of its first five shots when things were going fairly well early.


As was mentioned in the preview, Seattle is very good near the rim, but not great anywhere else, which made it even more infuriating to watch the Storm get layup after layup with little resistance and/or missed defensive assignments. I’m not looking for wins and losses the rest of the way out of this Sun team, but I sure would like to see them stop giving up 100 points every other game, especially at home.


If and when the Connecticut Sun (or whatever they will be by then) return to the top of the WNBA, they won’t be giving up 100. In fact, in their entire history, the Sun have given up 100 points 25 times, six of them being this season. Hopefully Monday will be the last for a while, but the next two games are both against the Liberty this weekend. 


What else did we learn Monday as Skylar Diggins posted the second triple-double against the Sun this season?:



 

  1. Transition was a big issue  - Not really good excuses for this, either, and when you have veteran guards like Diggins and Gabby Williams, it’s just way too easy, and it was particularly evident in the second quarter when the Storm pulled away. There were a few good defensive possessions, but - again - just too many layups that should bother the Sun’s pride with Nneka Ogwumike going 11-for-13 from the field and Ezi Magbegor 4-for-5, and Gabby Williams 7-for-9 from inside the arc. You could tell how upset Rachid Meziane was, calling multiple time outs, but it has not been fixed.

  2. What to make of ONO and Mabrey? - Some of those layups came against Olivia Nelson-Ododa, which was a little weird, she’s usually tougher to score on in the paint. She’s also coming off a brutal effort on Sunday, but she at least looked more like herself in the second half (and had a block on Dominique Malonga late in the first half), even if the game was long since decided. I don’t think the Sun can win much without her as they are constructed ……. Meanwhile, Mabrey is the subject of trade rumors again with the deadline approaching and the Sun going nowhere (although it sure didn't look like Seattle needed her Monday). She scored eight points and had four turnovers, and I think it’s a matter of what Connecticut can get back at this point, will someone give up a 2026 first-round pick for her? I’m not so sure

  3. What to make of Jacy Sheldon? -  Sheldon hit all three of her attempts from behind the arc and her shot looks online every time. She’s now up to 41.7% from beyond the arc, but takes far less threes than Mabrey or Bria Hartley (and is real close to Saniya Rivers and Leila Lacan). Hartley is at least shooting 36.2%, and Mabrey draws a lot of attention, but can Meziane find Sheldon more minutes somehow?


Player of the game:  Jacy Sheldon - You could actually go with Nelson-Ododa with her stat line, but Sheldon was perfect from behind the arc and finished with 11 points.


Inside the numbers : 4 -  Number of triple-doubles in the WNBA this season and two have come against the Sun (Angel Reese had the other, also at Mohegan Sun Arena). Just another sign of how much Connecticut has struggled defensively this season. 


Under the radar: Aneesah Morrow took the jump, which was interesting … Rayah Marshall had a very good fourth quarter - granted the game was already decided - but I really think she has a chance to improve eventually if someone is patient with her … Lacan is actually ahead of Rivers in steals now (1.9 to 1.6). Charles averages 5.8 rebounds per game, but Morrow is catching her, now at 5.2 …. 56 of Seattle’s points came in the paint, which probably would have been a lot higher if the Storm hadn’t completely let off the gas in fourth quarter.


Quotable:  “I didn’t see the team playing hard defensively. Even if Seattle has more talent, we couldn’t contain them one-and-one. We let them score too many points in transition. Two different teams between yesterday (Sunday) and today (Monday). We missed an opportunity to change the dynamic of not only the result, but how we play.” - Rachid Meziane


Next up: Friday vs. New York, 7:30 p.m. EDT



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Have the Sun really been officially sold? (and a Liberty @ Sun preview)

Image
Nothing has really changed since Friday, well, at least on the court, so I figured we’d go off the board and off the court for the preview of the second game of a series with the New York Liberty. If you’ve been in a cave or on the town Saturday, multiple reports stated that the sale of the Connecticut Sun to Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca for $325 million is done and the franchise would be moving to Boston in 2027. That seems pretty straightforward, but it is far from it at the moment. Before I start, I want to iterate and reiterate that the most likely scenario for the end of this saga is for the Sun to indeed be in Boston in 2027. Marina Mabrey chases down a ball after battling with Stephanie Talbot Friday (David Butler / Imagn Images) But - and a big but - there are many things that are not adding up as finalized. Let’s start with Pagliuca, who is technically the Celtics minority owner, but not for much longer. The team recently sold for $6.1 billion (yes, with a b) ...
Read more

Sun 94, Liberty 86: It's the hope that kills

Image
It’s the hope that kills you, right? Ted Lasso famously disagreed , of course, and - at least on May 9 - I’m going to go with Ted. Because after Sunday’s game in Seattle, it was hard to find much of anything to be hopeful about the Connecticut Sun with the 2025 regular season careering toward us. The Sun looked disjointed, which was somewhat understandable, but the lack of any direction and/or shooting ability seemed like an ominous harbinger of frustrating summer nights to come. Friday saw the Sun basically run the defending champs out of their own building, scoring 84 points in the first three quarters before emptying the bench for a 94-86 final that was not as close as it appears. We had Marina Mabrey running the offense, talking trash, and arguing with the officials over seemingly mundane calls. Olivia Nelson-Ododa might have been the most active player on the floor, Jacy Sheldon was hitting transition threes in rhythm, Lindsay Allen had seven assists and finished at +17, and Tina ...
Read more

Sun 78, Liberty 62: Peering into the future

Image
If you stared closely enough Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena, you could see into the future. It was the second quarter, and the Sun went with a lineup of Leila Lacan, Saniya Rivers, Marina Mabrey, Aneesah Morrow, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa. And the reigning queens of the WNBA, the New York Liberty, could not score. On a few possessions, they never even got a shot off. Sandy Brondello (see below) would shout out Lacan and Nelson-Ododa by name, and the chances of Mabrey being with the Sun a couple of years down the road (there’s a chance she might be gone this wee k) are probably slim and none, but Jacy Sheldon also had one of her best defensive games of the season, and by 2027, maybe we can throw JuJu Watkins in there, and good freaking luck scoring regularly on that team. It’s also somewhat baffling that the team that can force 23 turnovers and generally wreak complete havoc on New York is the same one that is dead last in defensive efficiency (although the Sun have nearly caught the Sk...
Read more