2020 Connecticut Sun season

The 2020 WNBA season is the 22nd season for the Connecticut Sun franchise of the Women's National Basketball Association. It will also be the 18th season for the franchise in Connecticut. The season will tip off on July 26, 2020, versus the Minnesota Lynx.[1]

2020 Connecticut Sun season
CoachCurt Miller
ArenaOriginally: Mohegan Sun Arena
Rescheduled to: IMG Academy gymnasiums, Bradenton, Florida
Attendance0 per game
Results
Record10–12 (.455)
Place2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish7th Seed, Lost in Semifinals to Las Vegas Aces 2–3
Team Leaders
PointsDeWanna Bonner – 19.7 ppg
ReboundsAlyssa Thomas – 9.0 rpg
AssistsAlyssa Thomas – 4.8 rpg
2021 season →

This WNBA season was originally going to feature an all-time high 36 regular-season games.[2] However, the plan for expanded games was put on hold on April 3, when the WNBA postponed its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] Under a plan approved on June 15, the league held a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy, without fans present, which started on July 24.[4][5]

The Sun's season started slowly when the team lost its first five games. They recovered to win four of their next five and were 4–7 at the season's halfway mark. The Sun won six of the next nine to secure a playoff spot with two games to go in the season. The Sun last the final two games of the season to finish 10–12. That earned them the seventh seed in the playoffs.

As the seventh seed, the Sun played in the First Round against the sixth seeded Chicago Sky. The Sun won the game 94–81 and advanced to the Second Round. There they faced off against the third seed Los Angeles Sparks. Again, they triumphed as underdogs, this time 73–59. The win saw them advance to the Semifinals, where they matched up against the first seed Las Vegas Aces. The Sun won games one and three of the best-of-five series, but could not close out games four or five, and lost the series 2–3 to end their season.

WNBA Draft
See also: 2020 WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
2 23 Kaila Charles  United States Maryland
3 35 Juicy Landrum  United States Baylor

Trades/Roster Changes
Date Details
February 10, 2020 Re-signed F Jonquel Jones[6]
Traded F Morgan Tuck and Connecticut's 1st Round Draft Pick for Seattle's 1st Round Draft Pick[7]
Re-signed F Natisha Hiedeman[8]
February 11, 2020 Traded the 7th and the 10th picks in the 2020 WNBA draft and one first round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft to Phoenix Mercury for F DeWanna Bonner.[9]
February 15, 2020 Re-signed G Bria Holmes[10]
February 19, 2020 Acquired G Briann January and a second round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft in exchange for Courtney Williams[11]
February 24, 2020 Acquired F Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis in exchange for a second round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft[12]
February 25, 2020 Acquired the Minnesota Lynx's 2nd round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft in exchange for G Rachel Banham.[13]
Signed G Jazmon Gwathmey to Training Camp Contract[14]
February 26, 2020 Signed F Valeriane Ayayi to Training Camp Contract[15]
March 13, 2020 Signed G Jacki Gemelos to Training Camp Contract[16]
March 14, 2020 Signed F Megan Huff to Training Camp Contract[17]
June 22, 2020 F Jonquel Jones opts to sit out of the 2020 season.[18]
June 23, 2020 Signed F Beatrice Mompremier.[19]
June 25, 2020 Signed G Jacki Gemelos on permanent contract.[20]

Current roster
Connecticut Sun roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G/F 24 Bonner, DeWanna 6' 4" (1.93m) 143 lb (65kg) 1987-08-21 Auburn 10
G 17 Carson, Essence 6' 0" (1.83m) 163 lb (74kg) 1986-07-28 Rutgers 12
G/F 3 Charles, Kaila 6' 1" (1.85m) 167 lb (76kg) 1998-03-23 Maryland R
G 2 Hiedeman, Natisha 5' 8" (1.73m) 135 lb (61kg) 1997-02-10 Marquette 1
G 32 Holmes, Bria 6' 1" (1.85m) 170 lb (77kg) 1994-04-19 West Virginia 3
G 20 January, Briann 5' 8" (1.73m) 144 lb (65kg) 1987-01-11 Arizona State 11
F 42 Jones, Brionna 6' 3" (1.91m) 230 lb (104kg) 1995-12-18 Maryland 3
F 35 Jones, Jonquel  6' 6" (1.98m) 190 lb (86kg) 1994-01-05 George Washington 4
F 1 Mompremier, Beatrice 6' 4" (1.93m) 190 lb (86kg) 1996-08-08 Miami (FL) R
F 23 Mosqueda-Lewis, Kaleena 5' 11" (1.8m) 180 lb (82kg) 1993-11-03 Connecticut 5
F 55 Plaisance, Theresa 6' 5" (1.96m) 200 lb (91kg) 1992-05-18 LSU 6
F 25 Thomas, Alyssa 6' 2" (1.88m) 185 lb (84kg) 1992-04-12 Maryland 6
G 5 Thomas, Jasmine 5' 9" (1.75m) 143 lb (65kg) 1989-09-30 Duke 9



East: ATL • CHI • CON • IND • NY • WAS | West: DAL • LV • LA • MIN • PHO • SEA
Head coach
Curt Miller (Baldwin Wallace)
Assistant coaches
Brandi Poole
Chris Koclanes



Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

WNBA roster page

Game log


Regular season
2020 game log
Total: 10–12
July
August
September
2020 season schedule

Playoffs
2020 playoff game log
Total: 4–3
First Round
Second Round
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 September 17 Los Angeles Sparks 73–59 A. Thomas (19) Bonner (13) J. Thomas (6) IMG Academy 1–0
Semifinals
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 September 20 Las Vegas Aces W 87–62 J. Thomas (31) Bonner (8) A. Thomas (5) IMG Academy 1–0
2 September 22 Las Vegas Aces L 75–83 Bonner (23) Mompremier (9) J. Thomas (4) IMG Academy 1–1
3 September 24 Las Vegas Aces W 77–68 A. Thomas (23) A. Thomas (12) J. Thomas (6) IMG Academy 2–1
4 September 27 Las Vegas Aces L 75–84 J. Thomas (25) Bonner (15) J. Thomas (6) IMG Academy 2–2
5 September 29 Las Vegas Aces L 63–66 A. Thomas (22) Jones (12) Bonner (6) IMG Academy 2–3
2020 playoff schedule

Standings
# Team W L PCT GB Conf.
1 x – Las Vegas Aces184.818–8–2
2 x – Seattle Storm184.818–8–2
3 x – Los Angeles Sparks157.68235–5
4 x – Minnesota Lynx148.63644–6
5 x – Phoenix Mercury139.59154–6
6 x – Chicago Sky1210.54566–4
7 x – Connecticut Sun1012.45587–3
8 x – Washington Mystics913.40996–4
9 e – Dallas Wings814.364101–9
10 e – Atlanta Dream715.318115–5
11 e – Indiana Fever616.273124–6
12 e – New York Liberty220.091162–8

Notes

x – Clinched playoff berth
e – Eliminated from playoffs
Home and Away records not shown, as all games played at a neutral location.
Updated to include results from September 13, 2020
Source

Playoffs
 
First round:
Single elimination
(September 15)		Second round:
Single elimination
(September 17)		Semifinals:
Best-of-five
(September 20–29)		WNBA Finals:
Best-of-five
(October 2–11)
 
              
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
Las Vegas Aces		 3
 
 
7
Connecticut Sun		 2
 
 
 
 
 
4
Minnesota Lynx		 80
 
 
 
5
Phoenix Mercury		79
 
5
Phoenix Mercury		 85
 
 
 
8
Washington Mystics		 84
 
1
Las Vegas Aces		 0
 
 
 
2
Seattle Storm		 3
 
6
Chicago Sky		 81
 
 
 
7
Connecticut Sun		 94
 
3
Los Angeles Sparks		 59
 
 
7
Connecticut Sun		 73
 
 
 
 
 
2
Seattle Storm		 3
 
 
4
Minnesota Lynx		 0
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

Semifinals
Team12345
1
Las Vegas Aces		6283688466
7
Connecticut Sun		8775777563
Team123
2
Seattle Storm		888992
4
Minnesota Lynx		867971
WNBA Finals
Team123
1
Las Vegas Aces		809159
2
Seattle Storm		9310492

Statistics

Regular season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
DeWanna Bonner 22 22 33.3 42.2 25.2 89.5 7.8 3.0 1.7 0.5 19.7
Alyssa Thomas 21 21 32.8 50.0 0 68.6 9.0 4.8 2.0 0.3 15.5
Brionna Jones 21 21 26.1 60.5 100 69.1 5.6 1.0 1.7 0.7 11.2
Jasmine Thomas 19 19 25.5 40.4 33.3 91.3 1.7 4.0 1.3 0.3 10.2
Natisha Hiedeman 22 4 18.5 35.4 35.9 70.0 1.9 1.9 0.4 0 6.1
Kaila Charles 21 7 17.9 41.2 36.7 71.0 2.6 0.9 0.8 0.3 5.4
Briann January 13 10 23.3 29.3 36.7 83.3 1.2 3.4 0.6 0.2 5.0
Bria Holmes 18 4 16.2 35.7 33.3 66.7 1.8 1.1 0.7 0.3 4.9
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 16 0 10.3 29.7 25.5 57.1 1.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 3.4
Essence Carson 11 2 11.2 32.5 28.6 75.0 1.5 0.6 0.4 0.1 3.2
Theresa Plaisance 13 0 6.9 37.9 29.4 83.3 1.0 0.1 0.4 0.2 2.5
Beatrice Mompremier 21 0 8.9 42.6 0 44.4 3.3 0.1 0.2 0.6 2.3

Awards and honors
Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
DeWanna Bonner WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week August 17, 2020 [21]
Alyssa Thomas August 31, 2020 [22]
DeWanna Bonner September 8, 2020 [23]
Alyssa Thomas 1st Team All-Defense September 29, 2020 [24]
DeWanna Bonner All-WNBA Second Team October 4, 2020 [25]

References
  1. "2020 Connecticut Sun Schedule". sun.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  2. "Atlanta Dream Announce 2020 Schedule - Atlanta Dream". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  3. "WNBA Statement Regarding the Start of the 2020 Regular Season". 2020-04-03. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  4. "WNBA Announces Plan To Tip Off 2020 Season". WNBA. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  5. "WNBA announces plans for 2020 season to start late July in Florida". NBC Sports Washington. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  6. "Jonquel Jones Returns to the Sun". sun.wnba.com. WNBA. February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  7. "Seattle Completes Trade with Connecticut Acquires Morgan Tuck". storm.wnba.com. WNBA. February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  8. "Connecticut Signs Hiedeman". sun.wnba.com. WNBA. February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  9. Metcalfe, Jeff (February 11, 2020). "Phoenix Mercury All-Star DeWanna Bonner traded to Connecticut Sun". azcentral.com. Arizona Republic. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  10. "Connecticut native and dynamic playmaker Bria Holmes re-signs with the Sun". sun.wnba.com. WNBA. February 15, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  11. "Sun Acquire All-Star Briann January, 2021 draft pick as a part of a three-team trade". sun.wnba.com. WNBA. February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  12. "Sun Acquire Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis from Seattle". sun.wnba.com. WNBA. February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  13. "Minnesota Lynx Acquire Rachel Banham". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  14. "Connecticut Signs Gwathmey". twitter.com/ConnecticutSun. Connecticut Sun. February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  15. "Connecticut Signs Valeriane Ayayi". twitter.com/ConnecticutSun. Connecticut Sun. February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  16. "Connecticut Signs Jacki Gemelos". twitter.com/ConnecticutSun. Connecticut Sun. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  17. "Connecticut Signs Megan Huff". twitter.com/ConnecticutSun. Connecticut Sun. March 14, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  18. "Jones Opts out for 2020 Season". sun.wnba.com. WNBA. June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  19. "Connecticut Welcomes Beatrice Mompremier". sun.wnba.com. WNBA. June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  20. "Jacki Gemelos Signs with the Sun". sun.wnba.com. WNBA. June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  21. "Bonner, Collier Earn Players Of The Week Honors For Week 3". wnba.com. WNBA. August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  22. "Thomas, Stewart Earn Player of the Week Honors For Week 5". wnba.com. WNBA. August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  23. "Diggins-Smith, Bonner Earn Player Of The Week Honors For Week 6". wnba.com. WNBA. September 8, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  24. "Two Atlanta Dream Players And Seattle Storm's Alysha Clark Headline 2020 WNBA All-Defensive Team". wnba.com. WNBA. September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  25. "A'ja Wilson And Candace Parker Unanimously Selected To 2020 All-WNBA First Team". wnba.com. WNBA. October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
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