UNCASVILLE — Minutes after the final buzzer sounded in the Connecticut Sun‘s 89-82 loss to the Seattle Storm on Sunday, coach Rachid Meziane sent a text to point guard Leila Lacan: “We need you.”
Lacan, entering her second year in the WNBA, is still in France competing in the Ligue Feminine playoffs with her club Landes, and the French guard’s overseas season can’t end soon enough for the Sun. The team struggled to string together positive possessions throughout its first two games of the 2026 season, and it’s obvious that it is missing a reliable, experienced playmaker to anchor its offensive system.
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Meziane expressed frustration after the Seattle game with the Sun’s inclination to create off the dribble rather than through ball movement, and those disconnects led to mistakes opponents can easily exploit. Connecticut has given up more turnovers through the first two games than any other team in the league, and ranks 11th out of 15 teams in assists per game.
“We’re doing (what we can) with who we have in our hands, and I have a lot of respect for all of our players, so I’m here to help them to be better and find a way to contribute and help this team to win,” Meziane said Sunday. “But without a playmaker, we need to play a different way; with a better passing game, share the ball. Sometimes we just kill our ball movement and hurt our flow.
“We need to understand the game; not just show up and play like a pickup game.”
Lacan could rejoin the team as soon as next week depending on how her team performs in the Ligue Feminine championships series. Her Landes squad lost its first game against Bourges on Saturday, and the next matchup is Friday with an if-necessary third game on Sunday.
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Nine of Connecticut’s 11 wins last year came after Lacan joined the roster in late June, and though her return is in sight, the Sun will have to get through at least three more games without her. It seemed early in the preseason like six-year veteran Shey Peddy would be the starter at point until Lacan arrived, but the 37-year-old is sidelined by a lower left leg injury with no timeline for a return.
After dropping its first two matchups of the season, the Sun need to figure out a solution at point guard that can succeed in the short term with two games against the reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces at Mohegan Sun coming up quickly: Wednesday at 8 p.m. and Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Meziane began the season experimenting with second-year guard Saniya Rivers as the team’s starting point guard, playing her in a lineup with four forwards to start both preseason games and the opener against the New York Liberty. Rivers played some point guard in college at NC State, but being the primary ball-handler is a different kind of challenge at the professional level.
Rivers dished a team-high six assists in New York but also had four turnovers, and it was clear that juggling the mental load of the point guard role detracted from other aspects of her game. She struggled to get her offense going shooting 2-for-6, and has yet to record a steal in 2026 after averaging 1.5 per game last season.
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“It’s just a different level of intensity. Finding a balance of looking for yourself at point guard is hard enough … and I think I was struggling to balance that,” Rivers said. “In the first couple of games, preseason included, I was more so looking for my teammates, looking for the pass first. You have to be very unselfish as the point guard, but I think I just totally forgot about me in the midst of it. … Now I’m at the point where I have to start getting my confidence back.”
Meziane said he still believes Rivers can develop into a pro-caliber point guard, but building that skillset isn’t going to happen overnight, and the Sun are looking for win-now solutions. Rivers and Meziane had a conversation after Connecticut’s 106-75 loss to the Liberty and decided the move Rivers back to her natural position on the wing, giving rookie guard Charlisse Leger-Walker her first career start running point against the Storm.
“Now that we’ve played a couple of games, it’s all starting to feel a little bit more routine, but it was definitely cool starting in the WNBA. I didn’t expect that or think that would come this quick,” Leger-Walker said. “It’s tough coming in and being a rookie PG, but they do a really good job of instilling confidence me and encouraging me to go and be aggressive or go demand things from people.”
Leger-Walker certainly had her rookie moments, finishing the game with four fouls and shooting 2-for-6 from the field, but she didn’t look out of place among pros. Rivers and second-year forward Aneesah Morrow both praised Leger-Walker’s composure under high pressure after Sunday’s game.
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“I feel like right now we’re trying to figure out our point guard identity, and of course Charlisse is very young, but I would say for her first start, she was very poised,” Morrow said. “I’m super happy and proud of her, just the way that she communicates on the floor and the way she speaks before certain plays. We’re two steps ahead when we’re with Charlisse.”
‘Best thing ever’: Former UCLA teammates reunite at Connecticut Sun training camp
The Sun rolled the dice on another playmaker in the final days of training camp, claiming former Chicago Sky guard Hailey Van Lith off of waivers after she was cut by the franchise that drafted her No. 11 overall in 2025. Van Lith arrived in Connecticut barely 24 hours before the team’s first game in New York, but the second-year guard has adjusted quickly and played impactful minutes in both appearances with the Sun so far.
Van Lith stepped into the lineup against the Liberty after a single practice with the team, but she still managed to put up nine points and four assists in 14 minutes. Against Seattle, she again dished four assists while giving up a single turnover for the best ratio on the team, and she also put up nine points on 50% shooting from the field playing 20 minutes. She had the highest plus/minus on the team in New York, and she was plus-4 in the seven-point loss against the Storm. As she spends more time in the system, Van Lith has the potential to establish herself as a clear second option behind Lacan at point.
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“She came with a lot of energy, and that’s something we need,” Meziane said. “We need some playmaking, and I know that she can bring that to the table … It will take time for her to adjust herself, but through her energy, I’m sure that she can help us … and she has the ability to score, so we’ll see how she can contribute.”
How to watch
Site: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville
Time/date: 8 p.m., Wednesday; 7:30 p.m., Friday
Team records: Connecticut 0-2, Las Vegas 1-1
Last meeting: Las Vegas 94, Connecticut 86; Aug. 10, 2025 in Las Vegas
TV: USA Network, Wednesday; NBC Sports Boston, Friday
Streaming: WNBA LeaguePass
