# 2018 Connecticut Sun season

The 2018 WNBA season is the 20th season for the Connecticut Sun franchise of the WNBA. It is also the 16th season for the franchise in Connecticut. The season tipped off on May 13.
The Sun got off to a strong start, going 3–0 in May. All three wins were at home. In June, the Sun started strong, winning their first 4 of 5. However, they lost 5 of their next 7 games to finish 6–6 on the month. That skid included a 1–4 road trip, where all losses came 4 of eventual top 5 playoff teams. Their up and down season continued into July, where the Sun were 5–6. July started with another tough road trip where the Sun went 1–3. From there the Sun couldn't get a streak going; losing 2 then winning 2 then losing 2 again. The Sun surged in August posting a 7–1 record, including going 6–0 at home. Their only loss came on the road to Chicago. The Sun finished 21–13, which earned them the 4th seed in the 2018 WNBA Playoffs. Their playoff run fell short when they lost at home in the second round 86–96. This was the Sun's only playoff game, as they earned a first round bye.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
| 1 | 9 | Lexie Brown | United States | Duke |
| 3 | 33 | Mikayla Cowling | United States | California |

### Trades/Roster Changes

| Date | Details |
| February 2, 2018 | Acquired C Cayla George via trade from the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for 21st pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft. |
| February 7, 2018 | Signed G Leticia Romero |
| April 12, 2018 | Sun receive Bria Holmes in exchange for 15th pick in 2018 WNBA Draft and a second round pick in 2019 WNBA draft. |
| July 9, 2018 | Sun receive Layshia Clarendon and a second round pick in 2019 WNBA draft in exchange for Alex Bentley. |

## Game log
### Preseason

2018 pre-season game log :
May: 3–0 (Home: 3–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 7
Los Angeles
W 68–65
J. Thomas (12)
Ogwumike (8)
Tied (2)
Mohegan Sun Arena
1–0
2
May 8
Dallas
W 79–58
Williams (18)
A. Thomas (12)
A. Thomas (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 3,695
2–0
3
May 11
Atlanta
W 74–58
Bentley (13)
3 Tied (5)
J. Thomas (3)
Webster Bank Arena 1,610
3–0 :
2018 pre-season schedule :

### Regular season

2018 game log Total: 21–13 (Home: 13–4; Road: 8–9) :
May: 3–0 (Home: 3–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 20
Las Vegas
W 101–65
Bentley (18)
A. Thomas (17)
J. Thomas (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,637
1–0
2
May 24
Los Angeles
W 102–94
Ogwumike (18)
A. Thomas (9)
J. Thomas (8)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,571
2–0
3
May 26
Indiana
W 86–77
A. Thomas (21)
Ogwumike (8)
Williams (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,843
3–0 :
June
: 6–6 (Home: 2–1; Road: 4–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
4
June 1
@ Chicago
W 110–72
Tied (20)
A. Thomas (13)
J. Thomas (8)
Wintrust Arena 4,131
4–0
5
June 3
@ Washington
W 88–64
J. Thomas (25)
Williams (10)
A. Thomas (4)
Capital One Arena 5,176
5–0
6
June 5
@ Atlanta
L 77–82
A. Thomas (19)
A. Thomas (17)
A. Thomas (7)
McCamish Pavilion 2,830
5–1
7
June 7
@ New York
W 88–86
J. Thomas (19)
3 Tied (9)
J. Thomas (8)
Westchester County Center 1,581
6–1
8
June 9
Minnesota
W 89–75
Williams (22)
Tied (11)
Tied (4)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,771
7–1
9
June 13
Washington
L 91–95
Williams (34)
Ogwumike (13)
J. Thomas (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena
7–2
10
June 15
@ Seattle
L 92–103
Ogwumike (30)
J. Jones (8)
J. Thomas (6)
KeyArena 7,094
7–3
11
June 16
@ Phoenix
L 72–89
Tuck (20)
Williams (6)
Banham (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 12,497
7–4
12
June 22
@ Atlanta
L 70–75
Bentley (18)
J. Jones (7)
Tied (4)
McCamish Pavilion 4,047
7–5
13
June 24
@ Indiana
W 87–78
Banham (20)
B. Jones (10)
Bentley (6)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 5,458
8–5
14
June 26
@ Washington
L 80–92
Ogwumike (17)
Ogwumike (11)
Bentley (6)
Capital One Arena 4,139
8–6
15
June 27
Indiana
W 101–89
Tied (21)
Ogwumike (10)
J. Thomas (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,112
9–6 :
July
: 5–6 (Home: 2–3; Road: 3–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
16
July 1
@ Seattle
L 70–84
Bentley (15)
4 Tied (6)
Bentley (4)
KeyArena 9,307
9–7
17
July 3
@ Los Angeles
W 73–72
Ogwumike (21)
Tied (7)
Banham (6)
Staples Center 6,280
10–7
18
July 5
@ Phoenix
L 77–84
3 Tied (11)
Tuck (8)
3 Tied (3)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,599
10–8
19
July 7
@ Las Vegas
L 90–94
Tuck (20)
Ogwumike (11)
J. Thomas (8)
Mandalay Bay Events Center 3,363
10–9
20
July 11
New York
L 76–79
Ogwumike (17)
A. Thomas (10)
Williams (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,413
10–10
21
July 13
Phoenix
W 91–87
Williams (25)
Williams (10)
A. Thomas (10)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,696
11–10
22
July 15
@ Minnesota
W 83–64
Tuck (15)
Williams (8)
Clarendon (5)
Target Center 9,234
12–10
23
July 17
Atlanta
L 83–86
J. Jones (19)
A. Thomas (10)
J. Thomas (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,555
12–11
24
July 20
Seattle
L 65–78
Ogwumike (21)
Ogwumike (12)
Banham (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,908
12–12
25
July 22
@ Dallas
W 92–75
Stricklen (24)
A. Thomas (8)
J. Thomas (9)
College Park Center 4,935
13–12
26
July 24
Washington
W 94–68
J. Jones (23)
Williams (10)
Williams (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,125
14–12 :
August
: 7–1 (Home: 6–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
27
August 1
New York
W 92–77
J. Jones (21)
A. Thomas (12)
Williams (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,412
15–12
28
August 5
Las Vegas
W 109–88
J. Thomas (30)
Tied (7)
Williams (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,791
16–12
29
August 8
@ Dallas
W 101–92
A. Thomas (22)
Williams (10)
J. Thomas (9)
College Park Center 3,483
17–12
30
August 10
@ Chicago
L 86–97
Ogwumike (18)
Tied (6)
Tied (3)
Wintrust Arena 5,976
17–13
31
August 12
Chicago
W 82–75
Williams (22)
J. Jones (15)
J. Thomas (8)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,687
18–13
32
August 14
Dallas
W 96–76
J. Jones (27)
J. Jones (10)
J. Thomas (7)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,365
19–13
33
August 17
Minnesota
W 96–79
J. Jones (26)
Tied (8)
A. Thomas (8)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,089
20–13
34
August 19
Los Angeles
W 89–86
J. Thomas (27)
J. Jones (9)
J. Jones (7)
Mohegan Sun Arena 8,040
21–13 :
2018 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2018 playoff game log Total: 0–1(Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0) :
WNBA Second Round: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
August 23
Phoenix
L 86–96
Williams (27)
Williams (8)
J. Jones (7)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,858
0–1 :
2018 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| # | Eastern Conference vte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| 1 | Atlanta Dream (2) | 23 | 11 | .676 | – | 13–4 | 10–7 | 12–4 |
| 2 | Washington Mystics (3) | 22 | 12 | .647 | 1 | 12–5 | 10–7 | 12–4 |
| 3 | Connecticut Sun (4) | 21 | 13 | .618 | 2 | 13–4 | 8–9 | 9–7 |
| 4 | e – Chicago Sky | 13 | 21 | .382 | 10 | 7–10 | 6–11 | 6–10 |
| 5 | e – New York Liberty | 7 | 27 | .206 | 16 | 4–13 | 3–14 | 6–10 |
| 6 | e – Indiana Fever | 6 | 28 | .176 | 17 | 2–15 | 4–13 | 3–13 |

## Playoffs

| First round: Single elimination (Aug. 21) | First round: Single elimination (Aug. 21) | First round: Single elimination (Aug. 21) | Second round: Single elimination (Aug. 23) | Second round: Single elimination (Aug. 23) | Second round: Single elimination (Aug. 23) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12) |
| | | | | | | 1 | Seattle Storm | 91 | 91 | 66 | 84 | 94 | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Connecticut Sun | 86 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 87 | 87 | 86 | 86 | 84 | | | | | |
| 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 101 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 96 | | | | | | | | 1 | Seattle Storm | 89 | 75 | 98 |
| 8 | Dallas Wings | 83 | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Washington Mystics | 76 | 73 | 82 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Atlanta Dream | 84 | 78 | 81 | 76 | 81 | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | Washington Mystics | 96 | 3 | Washington Mystics | 87 | 75 | 76 | 97 | 86 | | | | | |
| 6 | Los Angeles Sparks | 75 | 6 | Los Angeles Sparks | 64 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Minnesota Lynx | 68 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Alyssa Thomas | WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week | May 29, 2018 |
| Chiney Ogwumike | WNBA All-Star Selection | July 17, 2018 |
| Jonquel Jones | WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week | August 20, 2018 |
| Jonquel Jones | WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Award | August 23, 2018 |

## Statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Chiney Ogwumike | 31 | 31 | 25.5 | .603 | .500 | .797 | 7.3 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 14.4 |
| Jasmine Thomas | 34 | 34 | 28.1 | .398 | .311 | .855 | 3.3 | 4.8 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 12.9 |
| Courtney Williams | 30 | 29 | 27.1 | .456 | .377 | .680 | 5.9 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 12.6 |
| Jonquel Jones | 34 | 16 | 20.5 | .550 | .467 | .671 | 5.5 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 11.8 |
| Alyssa Thomas | 24 | 24 | 30.6 | .464 | .000 | .547 | 8.1 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 10.3 |
| Shekinna Stricklen | 34 | 30 | 18.8 | .430 | .430 | .857 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 6.6 |
| Morgan Tuck | 34 | 1 | 13.6 | .473 | .349 | .826 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 5.9 |
| Layshia Clarendon | 15 | 0 | 15.9 | .492 | .000 | .826 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 5.4 |
| Rachel Banham | 33 | 5 | 12.8 | .414 | .370 | .868 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 5.2 |
| Brionna Jones | 27 | 0 | 9.0 | .469 | .000 | .727 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 3.1 |
| Betnijah Laney | 29 | 0 | 9.3 | .471 | .111 | .909 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2.7 |
| Lexie Brown | 22 | 0 | 5.6 | .273 | .310 | .571 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.7 |