Seattle spoils Connecticut’s final home opener with late surge

The Connecticut Sun huddle up before the game against the Seattle Storm on May 10, 2026 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

Lexie Brown, who was once drafted in the first round by the Connecticut Sun, came off the bench and scored a team-high 17 points and sank five 3-point shots to lead the Seattle Storm to an 89-82 win in the final home opener for the Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena on Mother’s Day.

After the Sun cut the lead to one with 3:38 remaining in the game, it was Brown with a driving layup to extend Seattle’s lead to three points, 82-79.

The Sun missed their final five shots from the field and didn’t score a field goal in the final 3:38 of the contest. Seattle sank 8-of-10 free throws in that span to earn their first win of the season before 7.374 fans in Uncasville.

Jade Melbourne had 15 points and six assists for Seattle while former Sun guard Natisha Hiedeman had 11 points for the Storm. Hiedeman played five years in Connecticut from 2019-23, helping the Sun to the WNBA finals in 2022.

Connecticut (0-2) was led by Aneesah Morrow had 17 points and a career-high 16 rebounds off the bench. Brittney Griner scored 16 points and Diamond Miller added 13. Kennedy Burke had 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

Hailey Van Lith, who was the No. 11 selection by Chicago in the 2025 WNBA draft, had nine points and four assists in 20 minutes off the bench in her debut at Mohegan Sun Arena. Van Lith, was waived by the Sky on Monday and signed with Connecticut two days later.

Brown, who was the No. 9 pick by Connecticut in the 2018 WNBA draft, sank four 3-pointers in a span of 1:37 to highlight a 13-0 run that gave the Storm a nine-point lead, 63-54, with 3:20 remaining in the third quarter.

Brown played one season with the Sun before being traded to Minnesota for Hiedeman in 2019. This is Brown’s fifth WNBA team and her second year in Seattle.

On Sunday, the Sun were competitive and had a chance to win. It was a better effort than the season-opening loss to New York, 106-75, when the Sun were blown out in the first half.

“Yes, definitely saw some growth” Griner said. “We definitely did some things a little bit better, but there’s definitely some things that, you know, we just need to address in practice and that’ll be addressed in practice.

“I think we came out with. a little bit better intensity but we got to have it all the way (through the quarter),” she said.

The Sun are missing two experienced guards Leila Lacan, who is France completing some overseas commitments and Shey Preddy, who is recovering from an injury.

“We need to respect our scouting,” Sun head coach Rachid Meziane said. “(It’s about) understanding that right now because we don’t have (an experienced) playmaker, we need to find more post touches and we need to work more through passing game instead of dribbling. We had good moments but again not enough consistency.”

Connecticut’s Olivia Nelson-Ododa drives to the basket during in Sunday’s game against the Seattle Storm at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.  (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

In the second quarter, the Sun went on a 9-0 run with six points in the paint from Griner and a deep three-point shot from Burke to take the Sun’s first lead of the contest. The Sun outscored the Storm 25-15 in the second quarter to take a seven-point lead at halftime.

A 13-point run by Seattle with four 3-point shots from Brown helped the Storm stake a nine-point lead midway through the third quarter.

After scoring just five points in the quarter, Van Lith scored five straight points for the Sun and Olivia Nelson Ododa hit a jumper to cut the Seattle lead to two, 63-61 after three quarters.

With a reverse layup at the rim, Burke tied the game, 63-63. Six straight points from Jade Melbourne gave Seattle a four-point lead, 74-70, with 6:54 left. Four straight contested baskets – Dominique Malonga and Hiedeman for Seattle and rookie Charlisse Leger-Walker and Burke for Connecticut – left Seattle with a 80-79 lead with 3:38 left in the game.

“We wanted to win this game because we that we are the last chapter of this story that started a long time ago,” Meziane said. “We want to be sure that we give everything for our fan base. I have a group who has a desire to play hard and to play together so i hope that the our fans can recognize that that we are not cheating on the floor and we are trying to give our best.”

Up next, the Sun have two games with defending WNBA champion Las Vegas in Uncasville on Wednesday and Friday night led by A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray.

Seattle 89, Connecticut 82
At Uncasville
Seattle (89) Jordan Horston 1-4 2-2 4, Stefanie Dolson 1-3 4-4 6, Dominique Malonga 2-6 2-2 6, Natisha Hiedeman 5-10 1-2 11, Flau’jae Johnson 3-10 9-10 16, Mackenzie Holmes 2-6 0-0 5, Grace VanSlooten 2-2 0-0 5, Lexie Brown 6-7 0-0 17, Zia Cooke 1-6 1-2 4, Jade Melbourne 4-8 6-11 15. Totals 27-61 25-33 89
Connecticut (82) Diamond Miller 3-10 5-6 13, Brittney Griner 6-11 4-4 16, Kennedy Burje 3-11 4-6 12, Saniya Rivers 1-8 0-0 2, Charlisse Leger-Walker 2-6 2-2 6, Aneesah Morrow 7-15 0-2 17, Olivia Nelson-Ododa 2-2 1-2 5, Hailey Van Lith 4-8 0-0 9, Ginna Kneepkens 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 29-73 16-22 72
Seattle (1-1)    29  15  19  26  — 89
Connecticut (0-2)       24  25  12  21  — 82
Three-point goals: Seattle 10-22 (Horston 0-1, Dolson 0-2, Hiedeman 0-1, Johnson 1-3, Holmes 1-3, Van Slooten 1-1, Brown 5-6, Cooke 1-3, Melbourne 1-2); Connecticut 8-23 (Miller 2-4, Griner 0-1, Burke 2-6, Rivers 0-2, Leger-Walker 0-2, Morrow 3-6, Van Lith 1-2); Att, 7,374