Connecticut Sun Still Seeking The Right Recipe For Success

It is never easy when a WNBA team ventures west for a two-game road trip. The Connecticut Sun dropped both ends of their West Coast trip, losing to the Seattle Storm, 93-81, and the Phoenix Mercury, 99-90.

The Sun is now 1-5 on the season with their sole win; a 72-68 decision over the San Antonio Stars.
The Sun will look to get back on the winning track this weekend when they host Atlanta June 3 (7 p.m.) and Indiana June 5 (3 p.m.).

Against the Mercury there were a number of positives that Coach Curt Miller and his team can build upon in the upcoming games.

Point guard Alex Bentley got untracked from the field scoring 14 points (6-for-10 shooting).
As a team, the Sun shot the ball very well, which included a season-best 10 three-pointers.

In addition, Miller juggled his starting unit with Alyssa Thomas, Camille Little, Aneika Henry-Morello, Bentley and Jasmine Thomas taking the floor for the first time.

The move appeared to reap dividends as the Sun raced out to leads of 26-17 at the quarter and 46-40 at the intermission.

The Sun succumbed to a second-half Phoenix rally sparked by Brittney Griner (21 points) and Diana Taurasi (19 points).

The Sun’s downfall was with ball security, as they committed 19 turnovers to the Mercury’s 4.
Phoenix also had 14 steals in the comeback win and enjoyed a whopping two-to-one advantage at the free throw line.

Perhaps the tale-of-the-tape would have would have favored the Sun in Uncasville!

In Seattle, the Sun was victimized by Jewell Loyd’s 26 points and the Storm’s red-hot shooting (56.1%).

The Storm’s Crystal Langhorne was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field. Breanna Stewart tossed in 11 points and Sue Bird added 14 along with five assists for Seattle.

Connecticut was led by Jasmine Thomas (17 points) and Kelsey Bone (14). The Sun received encouraging contributions off the bench from Jonquel Jones (10), Morgan Tuck (10) and Camille Little (13).

SUN SPOTS

It appears that Miller is still searching for the right on-court combinations. He may have found something to work with after changing his starting five in the Phoenix game.

The Sun will continue to be a work-in-progress until they become more consistent on both the offensive and defensive ends.

The Sun shot the ball much better on the two-game road trip. Ball security and a high number of personal fouls are issues of concern.

It’s early but point guard Jasmine Thomas is off to a sensational start. Thomas has easily been the Sun’s most consistent player in the first six games.

Indiana Fever and WNBA legend Tamika Catchings will be making the first of her two final appearances on Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The veteran has announced that she will be retiring at the end of the 2016. Her final appearance is on Sept. 13.

UConn Homecoming!

Breanna Stewart makes her first WNBA appearance at Mohegan Sun Arena when the Sun play host to Seattle on Friday, June 10.

The tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Did you know?

Sun coach Curt Miller was a five-time finalist for NCAA National Coach of the Year. Miller is in elite company as he joined UConn’s Geno Auriemma and Stanford’s Tara Vanderveer as the only coaches who were nominated five or more times.

A Final Thought

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Vanderbilt University baseball community in the sudden and tragic passing of freshman pitcher Danny Everett.

Follow Bob on Twitter for all the Sun and WNBA news: @WhitneyBob