2018 Connecticut Sun season

2018 Connecticut Sun season
Coach	Curt Miller
Arena	Mohegan Sun Arena
Attendance	6,626 per game
Results
Record	21–13 (.618)
Place	3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	4th seed, Lost in Second Round to Phoenix Mercury 86–96
Team Leaders
Points	Chiney Ogwumike – 14.4 ppg
Rebounds	Alyssa Thomas – 8.1 rpg
Assists	Jasmine Thomas – 4.8 apg
Media
Television	NBC Sports Boston and WCCT-TV
← 2017 season 2019 season →

The 2018 WNBA season is the 20th season for the Connecticut Sun franchise of the WNBA. It is also the 16th season for the franchise in Connecticut. The season tipped off on May 13.[1]

The Sun got off to a strong start, going 3–0 in May. All three wins were at home. In June, the Sun started strong, winning their first 4 of 5. However, they lost 5 of their next 7 games to finish 6–6 on the month. That skid included a 1–4 road trip, where all losses came 4 of eventual top 5 playoff teams. Their up and down season continued into July, where the Sun were 5–6. July started with another tough road trip where the Sun went 1–3. From there the Sun couldn't get a streak going; losing 2 then winning 2 then losing 2 again. The Sun surged in August posting a 7–1 record, including going 6–0 at home. Their only loss came on the road to Chicago. The Sun finished 21–13, which earned them the 4th seed in the 2018 WNBA Playoffs. Their playoff run fell short when they lost at home in the second round 86–96. This was the Sun's only playoff game, as they earned a first round bye.

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2018 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	9	Lexie Brown	United States	Duke
3	33	Mikayla Cowling	United States	California

Trades/Roster Changes

Date	Details
February 2, 2018	Acquired C Cayla George via trade from the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for 21st pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft.[2]
February 7, 2018	Signed G Leticia Romero[3]
April 12, 2018	Sun receive Bria Holmes in exchange for 15th pick in 2018 WNBA Draft and a second round pick in 2019 WNBA draft.[4]
July 9, 2018	Sun receive Layshia Clarendon and a second round pick in 2019 WNBA draft in exchange for Alex Bentley.[5]

Roster

2018 Connecticut Sun roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 1 Banham, Rachel 5' 9" (1.75m) 168 lb (76kg) 07-15-1993 Minnesota 2 G 4 Brown, Lexie 5' 9" (1.75m) – 10-27-1994 Duke R G 23 Clarendon, Layshia 5' 9" (1.75m) 158 lb (72kg) 05-02-1991 California 5 G 32 Holmes, Bria 6' 1" (1.85m) 170 lb (77kg) 04-19-1994 West Virginia 2 F 35 Jones, Jonquel 6' 6" (1.98m) 190 lb (86kg) 01-05-1994 George Washington 2 C 42 Jones, Brionna 6' 3" (1.91m) 230 lb (104kg) 12-18-1995 Maryland 1 G/F 44 Laney, Betnijah 6' 0" (1.83m) 160 lb (73kg) 10-29-1993 Rutgers 2 F 13 Ogwumike, Chiney 6' 4" (1.93m) 173 lb (78kg) 03-22-1992 Stanford 2 G/F 40 Stricklen, Shekinna 6' 2" (1.88m) 178 lb (81kg) 07-30-1990 Tennessee 6 F 25 Thomas, Alyssa 6' 2" (1.88m) 185 lb (84kg) 04-12-1992 Maryland 4 G 5 Thomas, Jasmine 5' 9" (1.75m) 145 lb (66kg) 09-30-1989 Duke 7 F 33 Tuck, Morgan 6' 2" (1.88m) 200 lb (91kg) 04-30-1994 Connecticut 2 G 10 Williams, Courtney 5' 8" (1.73m) 136 lb (62kg) 05-11-1994 South Florida 2	Head coach Curt Miller (Baldwin Wallace) Assistant coaches Brandi Poole Steve Smith Legend (C) Team captain (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured

Game log

Preseason

2018 pre-season game log
May: 3–0 (Home: 3–0; Road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 7 Los Angeles W 68–65 J. Thomas (12) Ogwumike (8) Tied (2) Mohegan Sun Arena 1–0 2 May 8 Dallas W 79–58 Williams (18) A. Thomas (12) A. Thomas (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 3,695 2–0 3 May 11 Atlanta W 74–58 Bentley (13) 3 Tied (5) J. Thomas (3) Webster Bank Arena 1,610 3–0
2018 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2018 game log Total: 21–13 (Home: 13–4; Road: 8–9)
May: 3–0 (Home: 3–0; Road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 20 Las Vegas W 101–65 Bentley (18) A. Thomas (17) J. Thomas (6) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,637 1–0 2 May 24 Los Angeles W 102–94 Ogwumike (18) A. Thomas (9) J. Thomas (8) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,571 2–0 3 May 26 Indiana W 86–77 A. Thomas (21) Ogwumike (8) Williams (6) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,843 3–0
June : 6–6 (Home: 2–1; Road: 4–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 4 June 1 @ Chicago W 110–72 Tied (20) A. Thomas (13) J. Thomas (8) Wintrust Arena 4,131 4–0 5 June 3 @ Washington W 88–64 J. Thomas (25) Williams (10) A. Thomas (4) Capital One Arena 5,176 5–0 6 June 5 @ Atlanta L 77–82 A. Thomas (19) A. Thomas (17) A. Thomas (7) McCamish Pavilion 2,830 5–1 7 June 7 @ New York W 88–86 J. Thomas (19) 3 Tied (9) J. Thomas (8) Westchester County Center 1,581 6–1 8 June 9 Minnesota W 89–75 Williams (22) Tied (11) Tied (4) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,771 7–1 9 June 13 Washington L 91–95 Williams (34) Ogwumike (13) J. Thomas (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 7–2 10 June 15 @ Seattle L 92–103 Ogwumike (30) J. Jones (8) J. Thomas (6) KeyArena 7,094 7–3 11 June 16 @ Phoenix L 72–89 Tuck (20) Williams (6) Banham (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena 12,497 7–4 12 June 22 @ Atlanta L 70–75 Bentley (18) J. Jones (7) Tied (4) McCamish Pavilion 4,047 7–5 13 June 24 @ Indiana W 87–78 Banham (20) B. Jones (10) Bentley (6) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 5,458 8–5 14 June 26 @ Washington L 80–92 Ogwumike (17) Ogwumike (11) Bentley (6) Capital One Arena 4,139 8–6 15 June 27 Indiana W 101–89 Tied (21) Ogwumike (10) J. Thomas (6) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,112 9–6
July : 5–6 (Home: 2–3; Road: 3–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 16 July 1 @ Seattle L 70–84 Bentley (15) 4 Tied (6) Bentley (4) KeyArena 9,307 9–7 17 July 3 @ Los Angeles W 73–72 Ogwumike (21) Tied (7) Banham (6) Staples Center 6,280 10–7 18 July 5 @ Phoenix L 77–84 3 Tied (11) Tuck (8) 3 Tied (3) Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,599 10–8 19 July 7 @ Las Vegas L 90–94 Tuck (20) Ogwumike (11) J. Thomas (8) Mandalay Bay Events Center 3,363 10–9 20 July 11 New York L 76–79 Ogwumike (17) A. Thomas (10) Williams (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,413 10–10 21 July 13 Phoenix W 91–87 Williams (25) Williams (10) A. Thomas (10) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,696 11–10 22 July 15 @ Minnesota W 83–64 Tuck (15) Williams (8) Clarendon (5) Target Center 9,234 12–10 23 July 17 Atlanta L 83–86 J. Jones (19) A. Thomas (10) J. Thomas (6) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,555 12–11 24 July 20 Seattle L 65–78 Ogwumike (21) Ogwumike (12) Banham (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,908 12–12 25 July 22 @ Dallas W 92–75 Stricklen (24) A. Thomas (8) J. Thomas (9) College Park Center 4,935 13–12 26 July 24 Washington W 94–68 J. Jones (23) Williams (10) Williams (6) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,125 14–12
August : 7–1 (Home: 6–0; Road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 27 August 1 New York W 92–77 J. Jones (21) A. Thomas (12) Williams (6) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,412 15–12 28 August 5 Las Vegas W 109–88 J. Thomas (30) Tied (7) Williams (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,791 16–12 29 August 8 @ Dallas W 101–92 A. Thomas (22) Williams (10) J. Thomas (9) College Park Center 3,483 17–12 30 August 10 @ Chicago L 86–97 Ogwumike (18) Tied (6) Tied (3) Wintrust Arena 5,976 17–13 31 August 12 Chicago W 82–75 Williams (22) J. Jones (15) J. Thomas (8) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,687 18–13 32 August 14 Dallas W 96–76 J. Jones (27) J. Jones (10) J. Thomas (7) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,365 19–13 33 August 17 Minnesota W 96–79 J. Jones (26) Tied (8) A. Thomas (8) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,089 20–13 34 August 19 Los Angeles W 89–86 J. Thomas (27) J. Jones (9) J. Jones (7) Mohegan Sun Arena 8,040 21–13
2018 season schedule

Playoffs

2018 playoff game log Total: 0–1(Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0)
WNBA Second Round: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 August 23 Phoenix L 86–96 Williams (27) Williams (8) J. Jones (7) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,858 0–1
2018 playoff schedule

Standings

#	Eastern Conference v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
1	Atlanta Dream (2)	23	11	.676	–	13–4	10–7	12–4
2	Washington Mystics (3)	22	12	.647	1	12–5	10–7	12–4
3	Connecticut Sun (4)	21	13	.618	2	13–4	8–9	9–7
4	e – Chicago Sky	13	21	.382	10	7–10	6–11	6–10
5	e – New York Liberty	7	27	.206	16	4–13	3–14	6–10
6	e – Indiana Fever	6	28	.176	17	2–15	4–13	3–13

Playoffs

Main article: 2018 WNBA Playoffs

	First round: Single elimination (Aug. 21)					Second round: Single elimination (Aug. 23)					Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4)									WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12)
											1	Seattle Storm	91	91	66	84	94
						4	Connecticut Sun	86			5	Phoenix Mercury	87	87	86	86	84
	5	Phoenix Mercury	101			5	Phoenix Mercury	96												1	Seattle Storm	89	75	98
	8	Dallas Wings	83																	3	Washington Mystics	76	73	82
											2	Atlanta Dream	84	78	81	76	81
						3	Washington Mystics	96			3	Washington Mystics	87	75	76	97	86
	6	Los Angeles Sparks	75			6	Los Angeles Sparks	64
	7	Minnesota Lynx	68

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Alyssa Thomas	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week	May 29, 2018	[6]
Chiney Ogwumike	WNBA All-Star Selection	July 17, 2018	[7]
Jonquel Jones	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week	August 20, 2018	[8]
	WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Award	August 23, 2018	[9]

Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	TO	Turnovers per game
PF	Fouls per game		Team leader		League leader

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chiney Ogwumike	31	31	25.5	.603	.500	.797	7.3	1.0	1.2	0.6	14.4
Jasmine Thomas	34	34	28.1	.398	.311	.855	3.3	4.8	1.1	0.2	12.9
Courtney Williams	30	29	27.1	.456	.377	.680	5.9	3.0	0.8	0.1	12.6
Jonquel Jones	34	16	20.5	.550	.467	.671	5.5	1.7	0.1	1.2	11.8
Alyssa Thomas	24	24	30.6	.464	.000	.547	8.1	4.2	1.2	0.4	10.3
Shekinna Stricklen	34	30	18.8	.430	.430	.857	2.3	0.5	0.6	0.1	6.6
Morgan Tuck	34	1	13.6	.473	.349	.826	2.3	0.5	0.4	0.1	5.9
Layshia Clarendon	15	0	15.9	.492	.000	.826	1.6	2.7	0.5	0.0	5.4
Rachel Banham	33	5	12.8	.414	.370	.868	0.9	1.5	0.5	0.1	5.2
Brionna Jones	27	0	9.0	.469	.000	.727	2.0	0.2	0.2	0.2	3.1
Betnijah Laney	29	0	9.3	.471	.111	.909	1.7	0.7	0.4	0.0	2.7
Lexie Brown	22	0	5.6	.273	.310	.571	0.8	0.5	0.3	0.0	1.7

References

1. "2018 Connecticut Sun Schedule". Women's National Basketball Association. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
2. "Phoenix sends Cayla George to Connecticut for 21st-overal pick in WNBA draft". sun.wnba.com. February 2, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
3. "Romero Signs With Connecticut". sun.wnba.com. February 7, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
4. "Atlanta Dream Trade Bria Holmes to Connecticut Sun". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
5. "Dream Trade Layshia Clarendon, Draft Pick to Sun For Alex Bentley". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
6. "Alyssa Thomas, Chelsea Gray Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
7. "2018 WNBA All-Stars Announced; Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker To Serve As Player-Captains". wnba.com. WNBA. July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
8. "Jones, Bonner Named Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
9. "Connecticut Sun's Jonquel Jones Named 2018 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year". wnba.com. WNBA. August 23, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.

External links

• The Official Site of the Connecticut Sun