Your Day in Women’s Basketball, October 1: Why the Sun set on Connecticut’s season
Sun fall in 5 to the Aces in WNBA Semis
What a run for the Connecticut Sun.
They almost had it, too. A mere three-pointer away. Despite an electric first half, the Sun scored just 18 points after halftime in a 66-63 loss. The Las Vegas Aces will move on to the WNBA finals to face the Seattle Storm.
“You credit their defense a little bit they continue to congest us, [we] struggled at times on the defensive glass so we couldn’t get out and run, as well as we did in the first quarter. So it was grinding to a halt and you shoot under 25% for the half, I don’t care what level you coach at you don’t win a lot of games when you shoot under 25% for a half,” said head coach Curt Miller.
It was hard to root against Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, or anyone on this Connecticut team. They built a truly special roster and will be in an even better spot to compete for a title next season with Jonquel Jones’s return.
More from Connecticut Sun
- Aces Wild: Las Vegas wins first WNBA Championship over Sun
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, September 28: All-Rookie team announced
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, September 24: Playoff Stewie time
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, September 21: COVID scare for Seattle
- Women’s Basketball, September 17: NCAA Hoops to start Nov. 25
“Honestly, that locker room thinks they could have won a championship,” Miller said. “We believe that much in our defense and so it’s heartbreaking for them. But so proud of how far they’ve come. But what is even more special is what you guys don’t get to see is how close they got off the court nine players, again, with us less than two full seasons starting the year, and watching how close that they got. ”
Now is as good a time as any to talk about the confusing Dallas Wings season. The team spent most of the year on the brink of the WNBA playoffs, and while they didn’t quite get there, their future is bright.
Arike Ogunbowale, Satou Sabally, and Bella Alaire make up an exciting young core that has a chance to add several new pieces in the draft. They’ll have to look for a talented defensive player in the first round given their struggles on that end this year.
“Every team, no matter what sport you play, has its own journey,” head coach Brian Agler said. “And our journey was to grow this year, try to make the playoffs of course, but our journey was to try and grow, try and evaluate, try and get some young players some opportunities and then just see where we go.”
If you love podcasts (you probably do!) and the WNBA (you definitely do!) then you have to check out the latest episode of She’s Got Next with special guest Isabelle Harrison of the Dallas Wings. It’s a mandatory listen. I don’t make the rules.