HARTFORD — Aneesha Morrow continued her breakout season with a double-double effort, and Leila Lecan’s return provided a boost as the Connecticut Sun defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 84-81 in a WNBA game at PeoplesBank Arena.
It was the Sun, and the league’s first game in Hartford since July 26, 2003, the franchise’s first season in Connecticut. They have played nearly all their home games at Mohegan Sun Arena, but since the Tribe sold the franchise and it will leave for Houston next year, this so-called “Sunset Season” has scheduled two stops in Hartford.
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The next one, July 2 against Dallas, will bring former UConn stars Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd back to the state and likely sell out the building. On Saturday night, after a FanFest on Pratt Street, the 15,000-seat arena was more than half full, the crowd announced as 10,478, but the intensity of a Sun game at the smaller Mohegan Sun Arena traveled to Hartford, along with the team’s hardwood floor.
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The Sun (2-9) are coming off a five-game road swing out West and seemed to draw some energy from the crowd, and Lecan, who returned to the team this week after her pro season in France ended.
Lecan worked her way into the starting lineup and had an immediate splash, scoring the Sun’s first seven points. Though limited by foul trouble, she played 17 minutes and scored 12 points, providing another spark in the fourth quarter.
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Morrow had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and was particularly dominant during the third quarter and early fourth, when Connecticut took control of the game. Diamond Miller added 12 points, and Kennedy Burke 14. Former UConn star Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored four points, all at the line in the final minute, when she made a crucial rebound after the Sparks’ Dearica Hamby missed a potential game-tying shot.
Playing with a burst of energy, probably provided by having their point guard back, the Sun jumped out to a 15-8 lead. The Sparks (4-4), who played and won in D.C. on Friday night, matched the Sun’s energy despite the quick turnaround and led much of the second quarter. In the final minute of the half, Brittney Griner was hit in the eye and led off the court. As the play was reviewed, Griner was readied to return. Erica Wheeler’s offensive foul was upgraded to a flagrant, and Griner returned to a rousing reception. She made one of two, then checked back out and returned backstage. Meanwhile, the Sun retained possession with 10.7 seconds left, and rookie Gianna Kneepkins hit a long 3-point to send the Sun into the break with a 39-36 lead.
Though Lecan was in foul trouble and Griner stayed on the bench in the third quarter, the Sun retained their momentum and the lead. After a wild sequence late in the quarter, during which Connecticut coach Rachid Meziane drew a technical, the Sun took a two-point lead into the fourth.
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Morrow, by that time, had 12 points and 13 rebounds, carrying Connecticut in the absence of Lecan and Griner. When Morrow hit two free throws at the start of the fourth quarter, the Sun were up 67-62, and Lecan, with four fouls, checked back in. Lecan hit a jumper, the Saniya Rivers made a steal and Lecan drew a foul and hit 1 of 2 to make it a six-point lead with 7:38 to play. When Miller scored on a nifty move, scooping it in and completing a three-point sequence, the Sun were up nine with under six minutes to go.
Ariel Atkins and Rae Burrell each scored 16 for Los Angeles.
