2003 Connecticut Sun season

The 2003 WNBA season was their fifth season and their first in Connecticut. The Sun made the playoffs for the first time since 2000. They would sweep the Charlotte Sting in the first round, only to get swept to the eventual champion Detroit Shock in the conference finals.

2003 Connecticut Sun season
CoachMike Thibault
ArenaMohegan Sun Arena
Attendance6,023 per game
Results
Record18–16 (.529)
Place3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finishLost in Eastern Conference Finals
Team Leaders
PointsNykesha Sales (16.1)
ReboundsTaj McW.-Franklin (6.7)
AssistsShannon Johnson (5.8)

Offseason

Dispersal Draft

Based on the Sun's 2002 record, they would pick 6th in the Miami Sol/Portland Fire dispersal draft. The Sun selected point guard Debbie Black.

WNBA Draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
2 13 Courtney Coleman  United States Ohio State
3 34 Lindsay Wilson  United States Iowa State

[1]

Transactions
  • September 23: Rebecca Lobo announced her retirement.
  • May 21: The Sun waived Rasheeda Clark and Lindsey Wilson and announced the retirement of Carla McGhee.
  • May 10: The Sun waived Brianne Stepherson.
  • May 7: The Sun waived Natalie Powers.
  • May 1: The Sun waived Davalyn Cunningham.
  • February 14: The Sun traded its second round pick in the 2003 WNBA Draft to the Houston Comets in return for Rebecca Lobo.

[2]

Roster
Connecticut Sun roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
G 24 Black, Debbie 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) 124 lb (56 kg) Saint Joseph's
F 15 Coleman, Courtney 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Ohio State
G/F 32 Douglas, Katie 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Purdue
F/C 7 Hicks, Jessie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Maryland
G 31 Johnson, Adrienne 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 154 lb (70 kg) Ohio State
G 14 Johnson, Shannon 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 152 lb (69 kg) South Carolina
F 50 Lobo, Rebecca 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Connecticut
F/C 11 McWilliams-Franklin, Taj (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) St. Edward's College
F 3 Palmer-Daniel, Wendy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Virginia
G/F 42 Sales, Nykesha (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Connecticut
F 21 Wyckoff, Brooke 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Florida State
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Scott Hawk (Nebraska-Omaha)
  • Bernadette Mattox (Georgia)
Athletic trainer
  • Jen Brodeur
Strength and conditioning coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Season standings
Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Detroit Shock x259.735–13–412–518–6
Charlotte Sting x1816.5297.013–45–1212–12
Connecticut Sun x1816.5297.010–78–911–13
Cleveland Rockers x1717.5008.011–66–1113–11
Indiana Fever o1618.4719.011–65–1212–12
New York Liberty o1618.4719.011–65–1211–13
Washington Mystics o925.26516.03–146–117–17

Schedule

Preseason
Game Date Opponent Result Record
1 May 6 New York L 81-73 0-1
2 May 11 @ Charlotte W 65-64 1-1
3 May 16 Houston L 72-79 1-2

Regular season
Game Date Opponent Result Record
1 May 24 Los Angeles L 73-82 0-1
2 May 30 @ Houston W 91-83 1-1
3 June 1 @ San Antonio W 83-64 2-1
4 June 5 @ Detroit L 89-103 2-2
5 June 7 Houston W 65-58 3-2
6 June 13 Washington W 84-70 4-2
7 June 14 @ Cleveland L 56-84 4-3
8 June 18 Cleveland W 70-57 5-3
9 June 20 @ Indiana L 74-84 5-4
10 June 22 Detroit L 73-82 (OT) 5-5
11 June 24 @ Washington W 65-63 6-5
12 June 26 Indiana L 90-94 (OT) 6-6
13 June 28 @ Charlotte L 55-69 6-7
14 July 1 @ New York L 64-90 6-8
15 July 2 Cleveland W 64-57 7-8
16 July 4 Sacramento W 69-67 8-8
17 July 6 New York W 62-58 9-8
18 July 8 @ Detroit L 50-66 9-9
19 July 10 @ Minnesota L 75-83 9-10
20 July 17 Seattle L 65-67 9-11
21 July 19 @ Phoenix W 75-67 10-11
22 July 20 @ Los Angeles W 76-73 11-11
23 July 23 Minnesota W 84-70 12-11
24 July 26 Charlotte W 74-70 13-11
25 August 1 Washington L 45-48 13-12
26 August 3 Indiana W 66-55 14-12
27 August 5 Detroit L 61-78 14-13
28 August 9 @ Charlotte L 68-69 14-14
29 August 12 New York L 73-74 14-15
30 August 16 @ New York W 84-71 15-15
31 August 19 @ Cleveland L 52-69 15-16
32 August 22 Charlotte W 63-55 16-16
33 August 23 @ Washington W 74-67 17-16
34 August 25 @ Indiana W 72-62 18-16

Playoffs

In the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Sun had to face the Charlotte Sting. Since the Sting had the better record, the series would be played with game 1 at Connecticut, game 2 at Charlotte, and game 3 (if needed) at Charlotte. The Sun swept the Sting and advanced to the second round. In the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Sun had to face the Detroit Shock. Since the Shock had the better record, the series would be played with game 1 at Connecticut and games 2 and 3 (if needed) at Detroit. The Shock swept the Sun and game 3 was not needed.

Game Date Opponent Result Record Game Type
1 August 28 Charlotte W 68-66 1-0 Eastern Conf. Semi-Finals, Game 1
2 August 30 @ Charlotte W 68-62 2-0 Eastern Conf. Semi-Finals, Game 2
3 September 5 Detroit L 63-73 2-1 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 1
4 September 7 @ Detroit L 73-79 2-2 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 2

Depth
Pos. Starter Bench Inactive
C Taj McWilliams-FranklinJessie Hicks
PF Brooke WyckoffWendy Palmer -- Rebecca Lobo
SF Katie DouglasCourtney Coleman
SG Nykesha SalesAdrienne Johnson
PG Shannon JohnsonDebbie Black

Player stats

Awards and honors

References
  1. WNBA.com: 2003 WNBA Draft Board
  2. WNBA.com: 2003 WNBA Transactions
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