Sun rally to beat expansion Tempo in exhibition opener

Connecticut’s Aneesah Morrow (24), shown in a game last June against Golden State, scored 21 points in the Sun’s exhibition win over Toronto on Wednesday.  (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

Aneesah Morrow came off the bench to score 21 points while Aaliyah Edwards scored 14 points as the Connecticut Sun beat the Toronto Tempo, 83-78, on Wednesday before a sellout crowd of 8,210 at the Coca Cola Center in Toronto in a WNBA exhibition game.

It was the first game for the expansion Tempo franchise, who selected former Connecticut guard Marina Mabrey in the expansion draft. Mabrey and former Washington All-Star Brittany Sykes did not play.

The Sun close out the exhibition season by hosting the New York Liberty on Sunday, May 3 at 5 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Connecticut trailed by as many as 13 points in the third quarter and trailed by nine in the fourth quarter but used a 17-7 run to close out the game and secure the win.

Morrow came off the bench and had a game-high seven rebounds. Edwards, the Ontario native, hit 6-of-8 shots from the field and pulled down five rebounds. Kennedy Burke scored 13 points for Connecticut.

“I really love the energy this group is bringing,” Sun head coach Rachid Meziane said. “I think that we played tonight with a lot of energy. We didn’t lose our mind when the game was a little bit tough for us. We stayed locked in, we reacted and we won it. But again, it’s only a preseason game.”

Brittney Griner got off to a great start in her Sun debut on both the offensive and defensive end with a basket immediately followed by a block to start the game. Griner finished with seven points and five rebounds in 16 minutes of action.

Former UConn star Kia Nurse, who is from Canada, had the honor of scoring the first points in Tempo history at the 7:59 mark in the first quarter with a three-pointer to tumultuous applause by the Tempo fans.

The Sun proceeded to go on a 17-6 run with additional baskets from Sun newcomers Griner and Burke and returners Edwards and Morrow