Connecticut Sun tie franchise-worst start at 0-5. What will it take to get first win?

After the Connecticut Sun beat the Toronto Tempo in its preseason debut on April 29, the team felt confident that this year was going to be different.

Coming off of the worst season in franchise history in 2025, the Sun’s returners were determined to turn the page and start 2026 on a better foot. Though the team brought in nine newcomers and has just two veterans with more than five years of WNBA experience, there was optimism that its talented young core could exceed the low preseason expectations.

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“We’re just continuing to have a certain mindset when we step on the floor,” second-year forward Aneesah Morrow said in Toronto. “I was here on the team last year, and I know how it started, and we didn’t want that for our rookies coming in.”

But after just a few weeks since that early moment of promise, the Sun are out to a start that feels uncomfortably similar to the one they had a year ago. With an 83-82 loss to the Portland Fire on Monday night, Connecticut fell to 0-5, tying the worst start in franchise history for the second season in a row. The Sun also lost five straight games to begin 2020, though that team went on to make the semifinals of the WNBA Playoffs despite finishing below .500 in the 22-game season shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The most frustrating thing about Connecticut’s 2026 record is the way in which it’s losing. The loss in Portland marked the Sun’s second defeat when leading at halftime after it was up 49-44 against the Seattle Storm on May 10 before falling 89-82. The team has been within two points of its opponent in the fourth quarter three times but has yet to keep momentum long enough to actually pull out a victory. Connecticut currently ranks eighth in the league in first-half scoring but 14th out of 15 teams in the second half.

The Sun also consistently struggle to capitalize on easy opportunities. In the one-point loss in Portland, the team missed nine free throws that could have made all the difference. They have the worst free-throw percentage in the league, averaging below 70% at the line, and they rank second-to-last on shots within eight feet of the rim shooting 49.7%.

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“It’s a tough loss, because we played like 30 good minutes, but we didn’t stay focused the way we needed to,” Sun coach Rachid Meziane said in Portland. “We know that these small details are very important to win the game and keep a good level of confidence.”

There’s no doubt Connecticut is making progress and showing flashes of the team it could become later in the season, but that progress isn’t happening quickly enough in a year when there is widespread parity throughout the league. Every franchise already has at least one loss, but the Sun are the only team left without a victory, and they play one of the harder schedules in the league through the first 11 games.

“It sucks to lose this game, because we could have won it if we would have stayed within ourselves and executed, so it’s disappointing, but I do think there’s an underlying silver lining to where we’ve made improvements at different things every day,” Sun point guard Hailey Van Lith said in Portland. “At the end of the day, we have to cross the finish line and get a win, so we can’t keep dragging this out where we’re letting things slip by. We have to hold each other accountable, and I think we’ve done a good job with that amongst players and coaching staff.”

In the midst of a five-game road trip, the urgency is at an all-time high for the Sun to pick up a win to avoid setting a franchise record with an 0-6 start. Perhaps its best opportunity will come in its next matchup against the Storm on Wednesday night.

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Connecticut led for much of the second and third quarters in its seven-point loss when the teams met at Mohegan Sun Arena last week, but it was doomed by its inability to contain the Storm’s guards. Veteran Lexie Brown, averaging just five points per game this season, dropped 17 on a career-high five made 3-pointers, and rookie guard Flau’jae Johnson added 16 points going 9-for-10 on free throws.

Beating Seattle, especially on the road, will require better execution on the defensive end and a more consistent four-quarter performance. The Sun also have the benefit of two additional bodies in Wednesday’s matchup that it didn’t have the first time in forward Aaliyah Edwards and French rookie Nell Angloma. Edwards missed the first three games of the season with a thigh injury but has been a standout despite playing on a minutes restriction in her two games back on the court. The former UConn star put up 12 points shooting 5-for-6 in 17 minutes against the Fire, and she also provides a spark on the defensive end with three steals and a block over her first two appearances.

Angloma, who was activated by the team less than a week ago, is also seeing limited playing time as she gets settled with the team, but the 19-year-old has already shown herself to be a scrappy defender, and she creates a new dimension in the Sun’s offense with her speed and ability to get downhill.

“I do think that it’s a good opportunity for them to learn from this game and to grow, because it will be the same case in two days against Seattle,” Meziane said after the loss Monday. “A lot of (our) players are playing a bigger role than they’re supposed to play, and giving them these opportunities, it’s something important, because they are growing, they are improving their game, and they are going to make our team to make our team better.”

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How to watch

Site: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle

Time/date: 10 p.m., Wednesday

Team records: Connecticut 0-5, Seattle 1-3

Last meeting: Seattle 89, Connecticut 82; May 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena

TV: NBC Sports Boston

Streaming: WNBA LeaguePass