Thomas is honored but Sun rally to win eighth game of the year

Alyssa Thomas, left, and Sun President Jennifer Rizzotti before the start of Friday night’s WNBA game in Uncasville. More photos from the game 

UNCASVILLE, August 7, 2026 – Many filled the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday night to celebrate Alyssa Thomas, who played 11 seasons with the Connecticut Sun with a fiery passion that helped the franchise earn seven straight playoff berths and advance to two WNBA finals in 2019 and 2022.

Thomas left the Sun following the 2023 season as a free agent and signed with the Phoenix Mercury, who were in town to try and keep their slim WNBA playoff hopes alive.

With the Sun leaving Connecticut at the end of the season and moving to Houston, Thomas had her No. 25 jersey retired and was honored in a brief pregame ceremony. Usually, these ceremonies occur once a player retires but there are just six games remaining in Uncasville, so this was an opportunity for the Sun fans to cheer one more time for Thomas.

“Anybody that came and played here knew that we meant business,” Thomas said. “We were coming here to work. It wasn’t about the flashy things that are out there (in the world). We were about the main thing, which was basketball and I think anybody that knew they were coming in and playing us, the day was going to be a tough game. That is just the identity we made in Connecticut.”

The Sun showed a little toughness and resiliency on Friday night.

Phoenix (12-21) built a 16-point lead but never quite put the Sun away and Connecticut rallied for a 75-72 victory before a sellout crowd of 8,910 to snap a five-game winning streak before a national television audience on ION.

Kennedy Burke came off the bench with 15 points while Aaliyah Edwards scored 14 points off the bench to lead the Sun (8-23). Brittney Griner, making her first appearance since July 19 (missing four games), blocked an attempted three-point shot from Phoenix’s Kelsey Plum with one second remaining to secure the win.

Six-foot-9 Griner, who scored five points and pulled down seven rebounds, had two of the Sun’s five blocks in the game.

Six-foot-3 Edwards had also missed the last four games. She hit 5-of-7 shots from the field and had a team-leading eight rebounds.

Connecticut’s Leila Lacan blocks the path to the basket to Phoenix’s Kelsey Plum in Friday night’s WNBA game in Uncasville. More photos from the game 

Phoenix had a 16-point lead with 3:37 left in the first half but the Sun closed out the second quarter with a 12-4 run to cut the lead to eight at the break. Kahleah Copper scored with six seconds remaining but the Mercury let Kennedy Burke drive to the basket in the final second to trim the lead to eight at halftime, 40-32.

The Sun outscored Phoenix, 9-4 in the opening minutes of the third quarter and the game was on.

“We are just all committed as a team,” Edwards said. “We’re going to come on this third quarter and be dominant and punch first because in the past couple of games, we haven’t been doing that. I think it was a team goal and a team passion and commitment.”

The Sun outrebounded Phoenix, 34-29 but gave up just one offensive rebound in the second half, denying the Mercury second opportunities after shots

Phoenix made just 4-of-16 shots from the floor in the third quarter and were 11-of-33 from the floor in the second half. The Mercury are 7½ games behind New York for the eighth and final playoff spot with nine games left in the season.

“They showed a lot of composure to win this game,” Sun coach Rachid Meziane said. “We got you know the key defensive stop at the right time and we have like we scored and we have made a right important shot big shots at the right time as well.”

Phoenix led by five point, 61-56, with 5:51 remaining in the game but couldn’t build on the lead. The Sun went on an 8-0 lead, sparked by a three-point shot from Burke, to grab a 64-61 lead. Four quick points from Plum, acquired from Los Angeles on Saturday for Monique Akoa-Makani and two draft picks, put the Mercury up by one.

Connecticut’s Diamond Miller hit a big three-point shot with 3:07 left to give the Sun a two-point lead, 67-65. Phoenix’s DeWanna Bonner missed at the other end of the floor and the Sun controlled the rebound.

Edwards scoring on a cutting layup to the basket off an assist from Miller for a 69-65 lead. Ten seconds later, Plum hit a three-point shot to cut the lead to one.

Burke hit her second three-point shot of the game with 1:49 from the corner to extend the Sun lead to four, 72-68. With 1:03 remaining, Copper drove to the basket to cut the Sun lead to two 72-70.

With Connecticut leading by three with 20 seconds left, Plum drove to the basket to leay the lead to one, 73-72. Leila Lacan hit a pair of free throws with 12.9 seconds left to extend the lead to three, 75-72.

Solid defense forced Plum to try and shoot over Griner as the game clock wound down. Griner raced around the floor after the contest was complete with a Connecticut Sun flag.

Plum scored 25 points to lead Phoenix while Copper had 16 points. Thomas scored 10 with eight rebounds and five assists. Bonner had six points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

For Thomas, her final game in Uncasville ended in defeat. But it didn’t sour her memories of playing here. The WNBA draft was held in Uncasville in 2014 and the Sun acquired her in a draft day trade from New York.

“It is really truly an honor,” Thomas said. “I really left everything out there for this franchise. I think (fans) saw that I truly cared about the game. I truly wanted to bring a championship to Connecticut. For me, the journey wasn’t easy to get to this point. I had to work really hard and I think we (Sun) had a lot of players who were underrated and they found their way.

“I think the fans just appreciated how I approached the game and how hard to played each and every night,” she said.

Thomas ranks first in franchise history in games players (319), points (3,889), rebounds (2,396), assists (1,473) and steals (494).

Fifteen times in Connecticut uniform she recorded a triple double – 10 or more points, rebounds and assists in a single game.

Thomas earned All-WNBA honors in 2023 and 2024 and second-team recognition in 2022. She was on the WNBA All-Rookie team in 2014.

She brought a defensive mindset and tenacity to the Sun that helped them reach the WNBA finals in 2019 and 2022, losing to Washington and Las Vegas, respectively.

More photos from the game