Sun hold off Washington to win second straight game
Connecticut’s Leila Lacan, left, celebrates after Kennedy Burke (25) hits a three pointer late in the fourth quarter against the Washington Mystics at Mohegan Sun Arena. (Photo by Sean D. Elliot/Getty Images)
The final season of the Sun in Connecticut has been a frustrating experience for the team and their fans. Connecticut has played well at times but they have struggled to finish out games, coughing up several leads late in games.
Before beating Chicago on Monday night 92-63, the Sun had lost seven straight games and had the league’s worst record at 2-15.
On June 19, the Sun let a 15-point lead with seven minutes get away in a loss to the expansion Toronto Tempo. Two days earlier, the Sun were tied with Washington with 5:46 left only to see the Mystics go on an 18-11 run to close out the game and secure a win. On June 10, Connecticut led Toronto by seven with 2:44 remaining but ended up losing in overtime.
Things were different on Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Sun had 12 steals, held Washington to a season-low 57 points and a season-low 19 field goals as Connecticut won their second straight game for the first time in 2026 with a 68-57 victory before 7,789 fans in Uncasville.
Five Sun players scored in double digits, led by Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who had 12 points and three blocks. Lelia Lacan had 12 points, five assists and four steals while Brittney Griner had 10 points and a block. Kennedy Burke had 11 points off the bench while Charlisse Leger Walker had 10 points.
Associate coach Roneeka Hodges ran the team on Friday night with head coach Rachid Meziane out with an illness.
Connecticut’s top rebounder Aneesah Morrow didn’t play due to a left leg strain and Saniya Rivers missed the game with a left ankle sprain.
“I am proud of this team for the resilience that we showed,” Hodges said. “We’ve been in this situation so many times this season where we have played well for spurts during the game, established leads and didn’t do a good job of closing. But I think today we locked in, we were focused, and we did a good job of closing.”
Washington (8-9) cut the Sun lead to three with 7:20 left in the game but Connecticut (4-15) responded with a 7-0 run to take command again.
Leger-Walker sank a three-point shot to push the lead back to six. After a Leger-Walker steal, Griner scored on a running layup to extend the lead to eight points. Less than a minute later, Nelson Ododa scored in the lane and the lead was back to 10 points.
“I’m so proud of this team,” Nelson Ododa said. “Closing has been a struggle for us. It is a testament to staying focused and committed. This is us finding our groove and learning how to finish these games. We’re going to keep grinding out these type of wins.”
Connecticut’s Aaliyah Edwards (8) blocks a shot by Washington’s Kiki Iriafen (44) in the second quarter at Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday night in Uncasville. (Photo by Sean D. Elliot/Getty Images)
Down the stretch, Hodges and her coaching staff reminded the Sun that this wasn’t new.
“This time is going to be different because our focus is going to be different,” she said. “We’re not going to play to lose. We’re going to play to win. Teams are going to go on runs. Washington is a pretty good team. So, we expected them to make runs on us. But for us, it’s all about continuing to grow and continue to execute down the stretch.”
Georgia Amore had 14 points for Washington, which dropped their second straight game. Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron each had 11 points for the Mystics.
The Sun led 30-26 at the break and to start the third quarter, Griner hit back-to-back jumpers to extend the lead to 34-29. Amoore responded on the other end dropping in another three, but it was a layup from Kiki Iriafen that cut the Mystics deficit to just three at 34-31. Connecticut went on an 11-4 run to take a 10-point lead, 45-35.
In the first two minutes of the fourth, the Mystics took a one point 53-52 lead, but Griner and Leger-Walker found the bottom of the net in back-to-back attempts from inside the paint for a 56-53 lead.
The last time that Connecticut had consecutive wins was last August when they won three in a row on Aug. 19-23. Kennedy Burke was honored before the game for scoring her 1,000th career point against Chicago on Monday night.
The Sun return to action on Thursday when they head to Hartford to face Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd and the Dallas Wings at 6 p.m.
Former Sun coach Curt Miller and former guard Jasmine Thomas will be honored at halftime. Thomas’ number will be retired.