# 2019 Connecticut Sun season

The 2019 WNBA season was the 21st season for the Connecticut Sun franchise of the WNBA. It was also the 17th season for the franchise in Connecticut. The team opened the season on May 25 versus the Washington Mystics.
The Sun started the season well, posting a 9–4 record through the end of June. They were especially strong at home, going 6–0 over the first two months of the season. The end of June into the beginning of July proved to be a rough patch for the team. They lost five straight games from June 23 to July 10. This stretch included one of only two home losses on the season. After this losing streak, the Sun went on a seven game winning streak that lasted from July 12 to August 4. The Sun's final record in July was 5–2. The Sun didn't lose in August and posted an 8–3 record. The Sun's other home loss came on September 6 as the team closed out the season 1–2 in September. The Sun clinched a playoff berth on August 18, and their final 23–11 record earned them the second seed in the playoffs.
As the second seed, the Sun earned a bye through to the Semifinals. There, they met the #3 seed Los Angeles Sparks. The Sun proved to be too much for the Sparks, sweeping them three games to none. They advanced to the finals where they faced off against the #1 seed Washington Mystics. In a tightly contested finals, the Sun ultimately came up short, losing two games to three.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

The Sun made the following selections in the 2019 WNBA draft.
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
| 1 | 9 | Kristine Anigwe | United States | California |
| 2 | 21 | Bridget Carleton | Canada | Iowa State |
| 3 | 33 | Regan Magarity | Sweden | Virginia Tech |

### Trades/Roster Changes

| Date | Details |
| February 7, 2019 | Re-signed G Jasmine Thomas |
| February 27, 2019 | Signed F Ariel Edwards to Training Camp Contract |
| March 22, 2019 | Signed G Brianna Kiesel to Training Camp Contract |
| April 10, 2019 | Traded G Lexie Brown to Minnesota in exchange for G Natisha Hiedeman. |
| April 11, 2019 | Signed F Emma Cannon to Training Camp Contract |
| April 27, 2019 | Traded F Chiney Ogwumike to Sparks in exchange for the Spark's first round pick in the 2020 WNBA draft |
| May 7, 2019 | Waived F Ariel Edwards and G Brianna Kiesel |
| August 6, 2019 | Traded C/F Kristine Anigwe to Dallas Wings for C/F Theresa Plaisance |

## Game log
### Preseason

2019 pre-season game log :
May: 2–1 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 13
New York Liberty
W 100–66
J. Jones (19)
J. Thomas (7)
Williams (7)
Mohegan Sun Arena 3,806
1–0
2
May 14
Dallas Wings
L 67–71
Holmes (14)
J. Jones (14)
Stricklen (4)
Mohegan Sun Arena 3,965
1–1
3
May 19
vs. New York Liberty
W 98–79
J. Jones (21)
Williams (5)
Williams (5)
Times Union Center
2–1 :
2019 pre-season schedule :

### Regular season

2019 game log Total: 23–11 (Home: 15–2; Road: 8–9) :
May: 2–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 25
Washington Mystics
W 84–69
A. Thomas (23)
J. Jones (14)
J. Thomas (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,913
1–0
2
May 28
Indiana Fever
W 88–77
J. Jones (25)
A. Thomas (10)
J. Thomas (7)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,781
2–0
3
May 31
@ Los Angeles Sparks
L 70–77
J. Jones (16)
J. Jones (22)
Clarendon (3)
Staples Center 12,334
2–1 :
June
: 7–3 (Home: 4–0; Road: 3–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
4
June 2
@ Las Vegas Aces
W 80–74
Williams (19)
J. Jones (13)
Tied (5)
Mandalay Bay Events Center 2,747
3–1
5
June 6
Los Angeles Sparks
W 89–77
J. Jones (18)
A. Thomas (12)
A. Thomas (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,496
4–1
6
June 9
@ Atlanta Dream
W 65–59
J. Jones (17)
J. Jones (13)
J. Thomas (6)
State Farm Arena 3,082
5–1
7
June 11
Washington Mystics
W 83–75
J. Jones (24)
A. Thomas (12)
J. Thomas (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,224
6–1
8
June 14
@ Minnesota Lynx
W 85–81
3 tied (16)
J. Jones (12)
Williams (6)
Target Center 8,803
7–1
9
June 16
Seattle Storm
W 81–67
A. Thomas (20)
J. Jones (11)
J. Jones (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,773
8–1
10
June 21
Atlanta Dream
W 86–76
Stricklen (24)
J. Jones (8)
J. Thomas (9)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,608
9–1
11
June 23
@ Chicago Sky
L 75–93
A. Thomas (13)
J. Jones (10)
J. Thomas (7)
Wintrust Arena 5,607
9–2
12
June 26
@ Dallas Wings
L 73–74
A. Thomas (28)
Williams (7)
J. Thomas (11)
College Park Center 4,017
9–3
13
June 29
@ Washington Mystics
L 59–102
J. Jones (15)
J. Jones (7)
J. Thomas (5)
St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200
9–4 :
July
: 5–2 (Home: 4–1; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
14
July 6
Minnesota Lynx
L 71–74
J. Thomas (16)
Tied (9)
J. Thomas (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 8,076
9–5
15
July 10
@ Atlanta Dream
L 75–78
Williams (13)
Tied (9)
6 tied (2)
State Farm Arena 3,866
9–6
16
July 12
Phoenix Mercury
W 79–64
A. Thomas (20)
J. Jones (11)
J. Thomas (8)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,864
10–6
17
July 14
@ Indiana Fever
W 76–63
J. Jones (26)
J. Jones (8)
J. Thomas (6)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 6,434
11–6
18
July 19
Atlanta Dream
W 98–69
Holmes (17)
J. Jones (9)
Williams (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,733
12–6
19
July 24
New York Liberty
W 70–63
J. Thomas (18)
A. Thomas (12)
J. Thomas (7)
Mohegan Sun Arena 8,249
13–6
20
July 30
Chicago Sky
W 100–94
J. Jones (27)
J. Jones (11)
J. Thomas (8)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,358
14–6 :
August
: 8–3 (Home: 4–0; Road: 4–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
21
August 1
Phoenix Mercury
W 68–62
J. Jones (15)
J. Jones (14)
Williams (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,014
15–6
22
August 4
@ New York Liberty
W 94–79
Williams (28)
J. Jones (10)
Williams (6)
Westchester County Center 1,927
16–6
23
August 9
@ Minnesota Lynx
L 57–89
Holmes (10)
A. Thomas (7)
3 tied (2)
Target Center 8,892
16–7
24
August 11
@ Las Vegas Aces
L 81–89
Williams (13)
J. Jones (12)
Tied (4)
Mandalay Bay Events Center 4,633
16–8
25
August 14
@ Phoenix Mercury
W 78–71
J. Thomas (18)
J. Jones (14)
Tied (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,734
17–8
26
August 16
Seattle Storm
W 79–78
Stricklen (24)
A. Thomas (11)
J. Thomas (7)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,092
18–8
27
August 18
Dallas Wings
W 78–68
Williams (18)
J. Jones (10)
J. Thomas (9)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,275
19–8
28
August 23
Las Vegas Aces
W 89–85
A. Thomas (27)
A. Thomas (12)
J. Thomas (8)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,483
20–8
29
August 25
@ Los Angeles Sparks
L 72–84
Williams (18)
J. Jones (12)
Tied (5)
Staples Center 17,076
20–9
30
August 27
@ Seattle Storm
W 89–70
A. Thomas (22)
A. Thomas (11)
Tied (4)
Alaska Airlines Arena 6,258
21–9
31
August 30
@ New York Liberty
W 94–84
Williams (26)
A. Thomas (9)
J. Thomas (7)
Westchester County Center 1,791
22–9 :
September
: 1–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
32
September 4
Dallas Wings
W 102–72
J. Jones (22)
Williams (8)
Hiedeman (9)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,284
23-9
33
September 6
Chicago Sky
L 104–109
Williams (25)
Tied (9)
Williams (9)
Mohegan Sun Arena 8,077
23–10
34
September 8
@ Indiana Fever
L 76–104
B. Jones (14)
B. Jones (10)
Williams (4)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 5,451
23–11 :
2019 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2019 playoff game log Total: 5–3 (Home: 3–1; Road: 2–2) :
Semifinals: 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 17
Los Angeles Sparks
W 84–75
A. Thomas (22)
A. Thomas (10)
J. Thomas (8)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,102
1–0
2
September 19
Los Angeles Sparks
W 94–68
J. Jones (27)
Tied (13)
J. Thomas (7)
Mohegan Sun Arena 8,051
2–0
3
September 22
@ Los Angeles Sparks
W 78–56
J. Thomas (29)
Williams (13)
A. Thomas (6)
Walter Pyramid 4,000
3–0 :
WNBA Finals: 2–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 29
@ Washington Mystics
L 86–95
Williams (26)
Tied (6)
A. Thomas (6)
St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200
0–1
2
October 1
@ Washington Mystics
W 99–87
J. Jones (32)
J. Jones (18)
Tied (6)
St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200
1–1
3
October 6
Washington Mystics
L 81–94
Tied (16)
J. Jones (9)
A. Thomas (9)
Mohegan Sun Arena 9,170
1–2
4
October 8
Washington Mystics
W 90–86
J. Jones (18)
J. Jones (13)
A. Thomas (11)
Mohegan Sun Arena 8,458
2–2
5
October 10
@ Washington Mystics
L 78–89
J. Jones (25)
A. Thomas (12)
Tied (6)
St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200
2–3 :
2019 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| # | Eastern Conference vte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| 1 | Washington Mystics (1) | 26 | 8 | .765 | – | 14–3 | 12–5 | 13–3 |
| 2 | Connecticut Sun (2) | 23 | 11 | .676 | 3 | 15–2 | 8–9 | 11–5 |
| 3 | Chicago Sky (5) | 20 | 14 | .588 | 6 | 12–5 | 8–9 | 11–5 |
| 4 | e –Indiana Fever | 13 | 21 | .382 | 13 | 7–10 | 6–11 | 7–9 |
| 5 | e –New York Liberty | 10 | 24 | .294 | 16 | 4–13 | 6–11 | 3–13 |
| 6 | e –Atlanta Dream | 8 | 26 | .235 | 18 | 5–12 | 3–14 | 3–13 |

## Playoffs

| First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11) | First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11) | First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) |
| | | | | | | 1 | Washington Mystics | 97 | 103 | 75 | 94 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 93 | 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 95 | 91 | 92 | 90 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Chicago Sky | 105 | 5 | Chicago Sky | 92 | | | | | | | 1 | Washington Mystics | 95 | 87 | 94 | 86 | 89 |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 76 | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Connecticut Sun | 86 | 99 | 81 | 90 | 78 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Connecticut Sun | Connecticut Sun | 84 | 94 | 78 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | Los Angeles Sparks | 92 | 3 | Los Angeles Sparks | Los Angeles Sparks | 75 | 68 | 56 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Seattle Storm | 84 | 6 | Seattle Storm | 69 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Minnesota Lynx | 74 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

## Statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Jonquel Jones | 34 | 34 | 28.8 | 44.8 | 30.9 | 81.8 | 9.7 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 14.6 |
| Courtney Williams | 34 | 34 | 29.1 | 43.5 | 45.7 | 80.0 | 5.6 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 13.2 |
| Alyssa Thomas | 34 | 34 | 30.2 | 50.5 | 0 | 49.6 | 7.8 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 11.6 |
| Jasmine Thomas | 34 | 34 | 29.7 | 39.2 | 36.6 | 80.0 | 2.9 | 5.1 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 11.1 |
| Shekinna Stricklen | 34 | 34 | 23.7 | 40.8 | 38.2 | 81.5 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 9.0 |
| Bria Holmes | 34 | 0 | 15.6 | 39.9 | 31.7 | 67.2 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 6.3 |
| Layshia Clarendon | 9 | 0 | 15.3 | 41.9 | 100 | 85.7 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0 | 6.2 |
| Morgan Tuck | 33 | 0 | 10.7 | 38.8 | 35.7 | 60.0 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 3.7 |
| Natisha Hiedeman | 20 | 0 | 10.3 | 41.4 | 46.4 | 50.0 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 3.7 |
| Rachel Banham | 29 | 0 | 12.2 | 32.2 | 30.6 | 69.2 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 3.6 |
| Brionna Jones | 27 | 0 | 8.4 | 46.7 | 0 | 66.7 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.5 |
| Theresa Plaisance | 9 | 0 | 7.1 | 34.8 | 33.3 | 100 | 1.8 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 2.4 |

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Jonquel Jones | WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week | June 3, 2019 |
| Jonquel Jones | WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week | June 10, 2019 |
| Jonquel Jones | WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week | June 17, 2019 |
| Jonquel Jones | WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week | July 15, 2019 |
| Alyssa Thomas | WNBA All-Star Selection | July 15, 2019 |
| Jonquel Jones | WNBA All-Star Selection | July 15, 2019 |
| Courtney Williams | WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week | September 3, 2019 |
| Jonquel Jones | Peak Performer: Rebounds | September 9, 2019 |