Sun 87, Mercury 84: Do not go gentle into that good night

I asked in the preview to Saturday’s game what the Connecticut Sun had left in 2025 and whether - with three games left against possible WNBA title contenders - they might just go gentle into that good night for the season.

But they most decidedly did not, instead hanging a potentially damaging 87-84 loss to Phoenix in front of another big Mohegan Sun Arena crowd.


From the opening tip, Sun players were flying everywhere, Tina Charles was emptying whatever tank she had left (and trash talking Alyssa Thomas in the process), and our enjoyable Sun team we’ve seen in the second half of the season was back, even with Bria Hartley and Olivia Nelson-Ododa still on the sidelines.


I’ve gone back and forth on Rachid Meziane this season, the Sun - particularly on the defensive end - have had several outings where they didn’t look prepared and have given up more layups that anyone else in the WNBA. However, Saturday, the Sun looked prepared more than most for what Alyssa Thomas was going to bring, throwing switches at her and giving her enough room to keep her at bay, but not enough to pick them apart. Granted, she still almost had a triple double, but keeping her from one is about as good as you’re going to do these days.


We can probably argue at another time about why efforts like this more consistent or nitpick that it was still Charles and Mabrey leading the way, but if this was the last win the Connecticut Sun post this year, it was a memorable one. They had been in position to grab close games against good teams before, but - finally - they executed down the stretch.


Eleven wins will not be long remembered around the WNBA, but it certainly didn’t look the Sun would reach that number in 2025 when they were getting crushed repeatedly in the first month of the season. So we can definitely sing a bit after this one.


What else did we learn in DeWanna Bonner’s first game back to Mohegan Sun Arena?:


 

  1. Winning on guts - There wasn’t much offensive execution, really, and there were a few times the defense fell apart as well, but the Sun battled from start to finish, getting to the free throw line 34 times, grabbing loose balls, and (mostly Aneesah Morrow) making Phoenix work for every rebound. The Mercury - especially Satou Sabally - got extremely frustrated, but it was mostly just effort more than execution. Winning on guts alone is not something the Sun can say they’ve done many times this season. 

  2. Dominating the paint? - In the end, the Mercury shot just 18-for-39 from inside the arc, which isn’t terrible, but better than the Sun have done without Olivia Nelson-Ododa in the recent past. Morrow’s size has been an issue most of the season, but she gave Alyssa Thomas trouble with her activity, and (although Sabally and Kahleah Copper had a couple of layups), there wasn’t the constant procession to the rim. At the other end, Connecticut was 23-for-37 from inside the arc, with Mabrey going 7-for-11, including some key baskets in the fourth quarter. 

  3. Picking up some draft equity -  It was a bit convoluted, but the Sun will actually own Phoenix’s first-round pick in the 2026 draft, and this loss might move Phoenix from second to fourth in the standings, meaning the Sun will pick 12th instead of 14th. It’s not that big a deal, but any chance you get to help yourself move up in the draft, you never know what that could bring.


Player of the game:  Tina Charles - It would have been easy for Charles to coast the rest of the season to evaluate what she wants to do next season, but she came out and immediately showed she was up for this one, going at Thomas and finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The stat sheet doesn’t tell the whole story, though, her leadership was huge in the Sun finishing off the win.


Inside the numbers : 21 -  Number of fouls for the Sun in this game, which actually isn’t extraordinary, but the way they were distributed meant Leila Lacan (for the entire fourth quarter), Mabrey, and Linsday Allen all had five, but none of them fouled out in the end. 


(Bonus: 3 - Number of teams the Sun have yet to beat now this season: Minnesota, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles.)


Under the radar: After Sami Whitcomb’s three-pointer put Phoenix up 81-80 with 1:11 left, that was usually the time the Sun go away, but (after a Charles miss), Morrow drew not only a foul, but a flagrant foul, on Sabally. With the game tied, Lacan just dropped a ball that might have been a layup, but Lacan came back on the next possession to fight off Copper and get what turned out to be the game-winning layup. Lacan also hit four key free throws in the final seconds as well.


The whole Charles vs. Thomas battle was quite hilarious, and it seemed as if both players took it in its proper competitive way without going overboard. Interestingly, either Charles or Thomas has been a member of the Sun since 2010 with Charles playing from 2010-13 and 2025 and Thomas from 2014-24.


Quotable: “We are professionals, so it's important we finish the job. We didn't panic when it was tough. It's not easy to beat this team." - Rachid Meziane


Next up: Monday at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m. EDT

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