Connecticut Sun look like true title contenders after back-to-back wins vs. Chicago Sky, New York Liberty

When the Connecticut Sun returned to Mohegan Sun Arena for the first time since the Olympic break to host the Chicago Sky on Friday, DiJonai Carrington noticed a time capsule from the team’s last home game: Rachel Banham’s historic stat line from a 96-69 win over the Phoenix Mercury on July 14, still glowing on the digital scoreboards.

Banham recorded a season-high 24 points and set a WNBA record for 3-pointers by a bench player with eight the final time she wore a Sun jersey in Connecticut. Days after that performance, Banham and point guard Moriah Jefferson were sent to the Sky in a rare midseason trade for standout guard Marina Mabrey. On Friday, the pair were suddenly visitors in pale blue uniforms, celebrating against their old home crowd from the opposing bench.

“It is really sad, because the last game we were here was when Rachel had her crazy shooting night, so when we walked in the gym it was still like that with the points for each player,” Carrington said.” I’m happy for her and hopefully it’s a good situation for her, but me and her still text all the time … She has a coach’s mindset, so just to get her encouragement and her X’s and O’s mind to help me try to find my spots and places on the court, I appreciate her a ton.”

The Sun have felt the loss of Banham and Jefferson especially off the court — coach Stephanie White called the veterans “two of my favorites” — but the team has a quickly-closing championship window that it expects to take advantage of in 2024. Adding Mabrey was a necessary big swing to create an extra scoring dimension in the stagnating offense, and even though integrating her into the system has been a whirlwind, the early results show how she can raise Connecticut’s ceiling.

The Sun’s full roster didn’t get a single practice together during the break with its two biggest stars Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner at the Olympics in Paris, so the team has had to figure things out on the fly amid a grueling post-break slate. Connecticut returned to five games over the last nine days including two against teams that beat them previously this season and four on the road.

“We need some some practice time, especially offensively, to work on our chemistry and our spacing and our timing,” White said. “But we also have to understand the big picture and that execution, if you’re not fresh, is a moot point. We’ve been trying to be mindful of that as a coaching staff in terms of how much we’re on the floor challenging our players … (because) we have another back to back next weekend.”

Mabrey joked that there was some “beginner’s luck” involved in her 17-point debut with the Sun against the Dallas Wings on Aug. 16, and she was significantly less efficient as part of the starting lineup with 11 points in the following loss to the Atlanta Dream. Mabrey also had a disappointing night starting in a 69-61 win over the Los Angeles Sparks at Boston’s TD Garden, but the newcomer has thrived since White shifted her into a role coming off the bench against Chicago. Barely 24 hours after scoring a season-best 24 points on her former team, Mabrey led the Sun again with 15 points in their first regular-season win over the New York Liberty since 2022 on Saturday.

Connecticut Sun beat New York Liberty 72-64 for first regular-season win in rivalry since 2022

“Them welcoming me in, sometimes when you get a new player and you’re used to your chemistry you have to sacrifice for that player, so I appreciate that,” Mabrey said. “Also just moving the ball and being in a read-and-react offense is really good, because everybody is unselfish and whoever’s open gets the ball. Also, being able to create and attack for everybody else on the team. They play really well off the ball too, so it makes it a lot easier for me.”

Connecticut’s offense has struggled in first quarters all season, and that didn’t change with Mabrey in the lineup. But bringing her off the bench meant White had an offensive weapon to turn to for a different look when the starters couldn’t get shots to fall. White has indicated that she may continue tweaking the starting group based on matchups, but the biggest question is whether Mabrey will be comfortable in that role if it continues long-term. The 82-80 win over Chicago was the first game she appeared in without starting since June 2022.

“I mean, I’m just going to do what the team needs,” Mabrey said. “If it means that this game they wanted to bring me off the bench, some games I might start, some games I might not, I just want to help us get a win.”

The win over New York was easily the biggest of the season for Connecticut and established the team for the first time as a legitimate threat to the rest of the league’s loaded title contenders. On top of three losses to the Liberty in the first half of the season, the Sun also fell to the reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces and the star-studded Seattle Storm, so they’ll have another set of litmus tests with rematches against both teams in the next week.

“We knew that the back half of our schedule was going to be challenging,” White said after beating New York. “We were padded a little bit early in the season, and we knew that it was going to be a challenge in particular these two weeks … (We’re) playing a lot of games on the road in this stretch in August, and doesn’t get any easier in September, but I’m really proud of our group … I think we have an opportunity over the course of the next couple of weeks, as we head into the second or third week in September, at really starting to come together offensively.”