UNCASVILLE — The Connecticut Sun finished a difficult season, in more ways than one, with an 88-72 loss to the Atlanta Dream, who finished first in the WNBA’s Eastern Conference.
The Sun (11-33) completed the league’s expanded 44-game schedule with the worst winning percentage (.250) in franchise history, dipping below 2013, when the Sun were 10-24, a .294 percentage. Connecticut’s string of playoff appearances ended after six years; the franchise has made the playoffs in 15 of its 22 seasons since moving to Mohegan Sun from Orlando.
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Several of the Sun players had notable individual accomplishments, punctuated in the season finale, including Marina Mabrey (22 points, five assists) Tina Charles (nine points) and rookies Saniya Rivers (16 points) and Aneesah Morrow (11).
“We knew coming into the season this was going to be a rebuilding year,” Mabry said. “We don’t ever want to quit on anything, because that’s not going to get you to the playoffs next year, that’s not going to get you any closer to winning. There’s always a chance to get better when we step out on the floor together, whether or not in means something or it doesn’t for the team, for us it does mean something. We’re building more chemistry, and just setting a tone for next season.”
The Dream (30-14), second only to the Western champion Lynx, jumped on the Sun from the tip. Rhyne Howard scored eight quick points to help build a 31-13 lead after one quarter. Atlanta was 11 for 17 from the floor over the first 10 minutes, and continued the rout in the second quarter, stretching the lead out to 39-15.
“We got off to a bad start,” coach Rachid Meziane, who finished his first season after coming over from Europe. “We didn’t give ourselves a chance to win.”
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Britney Griner came off the bench to score 11 points, with five rebounds in the half as the Dream took a 51-28 lead into the locker room. Mabrey had nine and Charles, who set a Suns record for points in a season, eight in the first half. Charles received the Dawn Staley award for community impact before the game.
Meanwhile, Rivers set a franchise record for made 3-pointers with the expanded schedule. Mabrey’s 3-pointer cut the Dream lead down to 13, and the Sun chipped away to within single digits before Atlanta regained control, restored its lead to 13 at the end of the third quarter and controlled the remainder of the game. Griner finished with 17 points Howard 15 and former Sun star Brionna Jones 15.
The Sun lost their first five games, and 16 of their first 18, but were more competitive in the second half of the season, as young players improved, including rookies Morrow, Rivers, Leila Lacan and former UConn star Aaliyah Edwards, a second-year pro acquired late in the season.
“After our bad start, we never gave up where a lot of teams would explode or have broken under pressure,” Meziane said. “We showed a lot of courage and resilience this year. Tonight was the last game of the season, but beginning of our future. How our young players improved this year make me optimistic for our future. You cannot buy experience, but I do think what our young players did this year will put them in a better situation, and they will be better prepared, I will be better prepared, next year.”.
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Originally Published: September 10, 2025 at 9:05 PM EDT
