Sun Face Rough Road to WNBA Playoffs

(Photo by Karen King – Double G Media)

The Connecticut Sun has their backs against the wall as they fight for one of the final spots in 2016 WNBA playoffs.

The regular season will end in nine days and the Sun have a rough road ahead if they expect to punch their ticket to the postseason. The Sun (11-18) has five games left in the regular season to make their case for a berth in the playoffs and they need to win all five games and pray for some help.

The Sun are locked in a battle with Seattle (13-17) and Washington (12-17), but both have a leg up on Connecticut when it comes to tiebreakers. The Storm and Mystics go head-to-head tonight so that could be a boost to the Sun’s slim playoff hopes.

Connecticut face the New York Liberty (20-10) and Tina Charles this evening. The Liberty has a playoff berth comfortably secured which, in one respect, could allow the Sun to catch New York a bit uninspired as they coast to the playoffs. However, Charles is having a banner year for New York and could be on her way to joining an elite club of WNBA players that have averaged 20 points and 10 boards in a single season. Charles would join Chamique Holdsclaw and Sylvia Fowles as the only players to accomplish this feat.

The Sun enters this evening’s contest with New York coming off a 93-79 road loss to Maya Moore and the Minnesota Lynx (24-5). Alex Bentley, 16 points, and Chiney Ogwumike, 14, led the way for the Sun.

The Sun will return to Mohegan Sun Arena for three home games – Chicago (Sept. 11, 1 p.m.), Indiana (Sept. 13, 7 p.m.), Dallas (Sept. 16, 7 p.m.) and close out the regular season, with what could be the game to determine the final playoff spot, at Washington (Sept. 18, 4 p.m.).

SUN SPOTS

The Sun announced that head coach Curt Miller will serve in the dual-role of Coach and General Manager.

Miller replaces Chris Sienko, who stepped down after 14 highly-successful years as the Sun’s Vice President and GM.

Miller recently celebrated win No. 300 in a 13-year coaching career that has seen him as the head-knocker at Bowling Green, Indiana and now the Sun.

Sun rookie’s Morgan Tuck and Rachel Banham are out for the season after they both underwent knee surgery. The grueling recovery and rehabilitation period has started and the Sun brass is hopeful that the two will return to the hardwood better than ever.

Congratulations Sheryl

Congratulations to WNBA great Sheryl Swoopes who will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame this evening along with nine other basketball legends.

Swoopes has enjoyed an illustrious college, professional and Olympic basketball career which began in 1993, when she was named NCAA Player of the Year while leading Texas Tech to the NCAA national championship.

In 1997, the WNBA’s inaugural season, Swoopes became the first player signed to a contract.

Swoopes made basketball history when she became the first player in the WNBA and NBA to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year three times.

She finished her WNBA career averaging 15.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

Joining Swoopes in the 2016 Hall of Fame class are NBA greats Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson and Yao Ming, Michigan State University coach Tom Izzo, NAIA coaching legend John McClendon (posthumous), former NBA referee Darrell Garretson (posthumous), NBA executive Jerry Reinsdorf, ABA legend Zelmo Beatty (posthumous) and early African-American hoop pioneer Cumberland Posey (posthumous).

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