In Hartford, defense helps Connecticut secure second win of season

HARTFORD, May 30, 2026 – On Saturday night, the Connecticut Sun finally had the majority of the pieces on the floor that they had hoped to have when the 2026 season began three weeks ago with the addition of second-year guard Leila Lacon, who turns 22 in three days.

Six-foot-nine Brittney Griner was back in the lineup after missing the last four games with a rib injury. Only Aaliyah Edwards, who is in concussion protocol, was out of the lineup.

Lacon infused some offensive spark into the Sun while Kennedy Burke displayed defensive toughness and Aneesah Morrow scored a team-high 17 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as the Sun snapped a three-game losing streak and won their second game of the season with a 84-81 win over Los Angeles before 10,478 fans at the PeoplesBank Arena.

It was also the first game in Hartford for the Sun since 2003 – part of the team’s farewell tour before they head to Houston in 2027.

Burke had 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks for Connecticut (2-8) while Lacan, hobbled by fouls for much of the second half, had 12 points and three key assists – two in the fourth quarter.

In the final four minutes, Burke had a block, steal and two rebounds and a driving layup with 1:25 remaining off an assist from Lacan to put the Sun up by five, 81-76.

A three-point shot from Rae Burrell with 52.1 seconds left cut the Connecticut lead to two points, 81-79 but the Sparks missed their final four shots from the floor.

Los Angeles (4-4) came into the game with a three-game winning streak, including a win over defending WNBA champion Las Vegas and a victory on Friday night in Washington. But the Sparks were without Kelsey Plum, the league’s leading scorer (26.8 ppg), who turned an ankle in practice earlier this week.

Rae Burrell led the Sparks with 16 points, including nine in the third quarter while Ariel Atkins scored 16. Erica Wheeler scored eight of her 13 points in the fourth quarter.

But the Sun limited Los Angeles to just 40.9 percent shooting from the floor – the second-best defensive effort of the season for Connecticut.

“Our defense today was absolutely superb,” Burke said. “We had each other’s backs. They made some tough shots, they made a few layups. That’s OK. I like the way that we just kept playing. I feel like defense and rebounding was very important for us.”

Added Morrow, “That was a team win. We were locked in, disciplined. There are going to be tough games and we dealt with a lot of stuff (tonight), flagrant fouls, lots of reviews but we perserved and pushed through.”

Griner only played in the first half after being injured late in the first half going up for a rebound. She scored nine points in 15 minutes of action. The team had no update on her status going forward immediately after the game.

Diamond Miller had 12 points for the Sun while Saniya Rivers scored nine. Connecticut outrebounded Los Angeles, 37-29 and held a 11-9 edge in steals.

“Defense wins games, and the fact that everyone that stepped on the court and ontributed in some way offensively, defensively, it showed,” Burke said. “So, if we just keep playing team defense, we can stack up some more wins.”

The Sun were aching for a win. They went 1-4 on their five-game West Coast swing and were on the road for 12 days.

Afterwards, the players hugged each other in relief. Team president Jen Rizzotti gave Sun forward Olivia Nelson Ododa a big hug on the court.

The crowd of more than 10,000 got louder as the game went on and they saw the Sun’s chances of winning improve. A few foul calls on Connecticut really fired up the crowd in the second half.

“The crowd was electric tonight. They were with us all the way for 40 minutes so it was great and I’m glad we got the win,” Rivers said.

“The atmosphere in this arena was just amazing,” Burke said. “I feel like that played a part of our win today. And it was a lot of fun.”

The Sun also hosted a fan festival before the game on wind-swept Pratt Street in Hartford, across the street from the arena. Several hundred fans walked through the festival that was held for three hours before the contest.

It is the first of two Sun games in Hartford. The next game will be Thursday, July 2 when the Sun host the Dallas Wings and former UConn stars Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, the most No. 1 selections in the WNBA draft.

Griner became the 18th player in league history to score more than 6,000 career points.

Lacan got Connecticut started with seven of the Sun’s first 15 points, including five unanswered points as the Sun raced out to an early 15-8 lead.

The Sparks had a 36-33 lead late in the second quarter but the Sun scored the final seven points of the half to take a 39-36 lead at the break. The Sun had seven steals and five blocks in the first half, the most blocks in a half this season for Connecticut.

Burrell had nine of her 16 points in the third quarter but the Sun led 62-60 after three quarters.

“I told to my playesr this morning that it’s in our hands to control our future,” Sun coach Rachid Meziane said. “And I’m sure that our future will be better than our past, and with Leila’s arrival and (Griner’s) return (from injury). We just showed tonight that we are a more competitive team.”

The Sun return to the road for games at Atlanta (June 2) and Chicago (June 9) before returning home to the Mohegan Sun Arena on June 9 to face the New York Liberty and retire Jonquel Jones’ uniform number.

It was a regular season attendance record for an WNBA game in Hartford. The Sun drew just over 5,600 in 2003 against Charlotte. A WNBA exhibition between New York, featuring former UConn star Rebecca Lobo, and Washington in May 2001 drew 11,389 to the Hartford Civic Center.

Fans join in dancing with the Sun dance team at the Sun Fan Festival Saturday before Connecticut’s game with Los Angeles.

More photos from the game and Fan Festival