Sun begin 16th season in Connecticut on May 20 against Las Vegas

Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas, left, and Seattle’s Breanna Stewart battle for control of the ball  in Uncasville last summer.

UNCASVILLE, Feb. 8 – The WNBA’s Connecticut Sun will tip off their 16th season in Connecticut on Sunday, May 20 when they host the newly-named Las Vegas Aces at 1 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The Aces were formerly the San Antonio Stars.

The Sun went 21-7 a year ago, finished second in the Eastern Conference and earned their first playoff berth since 2012. They’ll be looking to build on that success.

Connecticut will play their first three games at home. They’ll host the Los Angeles Sparks on May 24 at 7 p.m. and the Indiana Fever on May 26, also at 7 p.m. Nine of the 17 home games in Uncasville will be played on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

“We are excited about the release of the schedule and certainly pleased that we begin the year with three straight home games in May,” said Curt Miller, Connecticut’s head coach and general manager. “We look forward to building on the momentum we established last year.”

Highlights of the home schedule include two visits from Maya Moore and the defending champion Minnesota Lynx – on June 9 at 2 p.m. and August 17 at 7 p.m. – and a game against Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury on July 13 at 7 p.m. Sue Bird, Brianna Stewart and the Seattle Storm are at Mohegan Sun Arena on July 20 at 7 p.m. The Sun will host Washington at home on June 13 on ESPN2 at 7 p.m.

Moore, Taurasi, Bird and Stewart are former UConn stars that always draw a big crowd in Connecticut.

The Sun will be tested by lengthy stretches away from home in June and July. The first trip includes visits to Chicago (6/1), Washington (6/3), Atlanta (6/5) and New York (6/7). There is also a span of five straight road games starting with a back-to-back at Seattle (6/15) and Phoenix (6/16) and closing with a game at Washington on June 26 followed by a home game at Indiana on June 27. The last long road trip takes the Sun to Seattle, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas from July 1-7.

“We will be road warriors in June and the early part of July, playing 13 out of 16 games away from home,” said Miller, who led the Sun to nine road wins last season, including victories at defending champion Minnesota and playoff participants New York, Washington and Dallas.

“Overall, we are playing 34 regular season games in nearly 25 less calendar days than 2017, so it makes for extremely tough stretches of games and travel,” Miller said. “But the positive news about the early road games is we finish with 11 of our last 15 at home, including four straight to finish the regular season.”

That closing homestand includes Chicago (8/12), Dallas (8/14) and 2017 WNBA finalists Minnesota (8/17) and Los Angeles (8/19).

MAY
20: LAS VEGAS, 1 p.m.; 24, LOS ANGELES, 7 p.m.; 26: INDIANA, 7 p.m.
JUNE
1: at Chicago, 9 p.m.; 3, at Washington, 3 p.m.; 5, at Atlanta, 8 p.m., 7, at New York, 7 p.m., 9, MINNESOTA, 2 p.m.; 13, WASHINGTON, 7 p.m.; 15, at Seattle, 10 p.m.; 16, at Phoenix, 10 p.m.; 22, at Atlanta, 7 p.m., 24, at Indiana, 5 p.m.; 26, at Washington, 7 p.m.; 27, INDIANA, 7 p.m.
JULY
1: at Seattle, 7 p.m.; 3, at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.; 5, at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.; 11, NEW YORK, 11:30 a.m.; 13, PHOENIX, 7 p.m.; 15, at Minnesota, 7 p.m.; 17, ATLANTA, 7 p.m.; 20, SEATTLE, 7 p.m.; 22, at Dallas, 4 p.m.; 24, WASHINGTON, 7 p.m.
AUGUST
1, NEW YORK, 7 p.m., 5, LAS VEGAS, 3 p.m.; 8, a Dallas, 8 p.m.; 10, at Chicago, 9 p.m.; 12, CHICAGO, 3 p.m.; 14, DALLAS, 7 p.m.; 17, MINNESOTA, 7 p.m.; 19, LOS ANGELES, 3 p.m.