Sun Fall in Down-To-The-Wire Battle against Wings, 86-83
Published on July 2, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Connecticut Sun News Release
Hartford, CT - The Connecticut Sun (4-16) fell against the Dallas Wings (12-8), 86-83, Thursday night at PeoplesBank Arena.
Leila Lacan led the Sun with 18 points and five assists. Charlisse Leger-Walker posted 14 points in the outing. Brittney Griner totaled her first double-double of the season off 13 points and 11 rebounds. Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Aaliyah Edwards grabbed 11 apiece; Nelson-Ododa also pulled down eight rebounds.
Arike Ogunbowale scored the first points of the match, followed by Paige Bueckers. The pair grabbed six points off three-pointers. Griner started the Sun's offense with a long-rage two and Lacan put up a three to snuff Dallas' scoring streak. Lacan disrupted Wings' offense with a steal, dishing the ball out to Leger-Walker, who grabbed her first points of the night. Lacan elevated Connecticut to a slight lead with a mid-range shot, followed by Nelson-Ododa rolling in one close to the rim. Bueckers answered with a shot from downtown to tie it up, but Edwards reestablished the Sun's lead. Leger-Walker extended it with a make from downtown. Kennedy Burke and Griner combined to put the Sun ahead six points at the close of the first quarter.
Leger-Walker claimed the first four points of the second frame with a pair of mid-range jumpers to extend Connecticut's lead to 10 points. Maddy Siegrist scored four points back-to-back to get Dallas on the board after a nearly three-minute scoring drought. Aneesah Morrow and Burke carried out a six-point siege before Siegrist also ended that, this time with a three. Aziah James and Alanna Smith grabbed five straight, before Nelson-Ododa and Lacan returned the favor. Burke and Bueckers traded three-foot buckets. Bueckers made a shot from the field to close the Sun's double-digit lead down to eight points heading into the second half.
Jessica Shepard grabbed the first buckets of the second half, but Lacan followed it up with her own. Griner grabbed three points at the free throw line to give the Sun more space against the Wings, but Shepard followed that with a mid-range make. Diamond Miller grabbed her first make with a contested shot. She grabbed a steal off a missed free throw and picked up another one at the line. Leger-Walker and Smith exchanged shots, but Connecticut had a 12-point advantage with 6:33 remaining in the third. Griner tossed in a shot from the field to extend the lead to 14. Bueckers responded, grabbing multiple offense boards before putting in a layup. Smith closed out a three. Saniya Rivers picked up her first points, cutting defenders to the basket. Shepard and James grabbed four-straight before Griner picked up a massive block against Odyssey Sims to end the third.
Lacan opened the final quarter grabbing two. The Wings picked up four-straight points to cut the Sun's lead down to five with 8:07 remaining. Griner rolled one in at the rim and Lacan got a defensive stop against Azzi Fudd to disrupt Dallas' momentum. Nelson-Ododa muscled her way to the board to pick up two points, answered by Bueckers down the stretch. Fudd found her first make of the game late in the quarter. Shepard brought Dallas within four points with 3:42 on the clock before Bueckers rushed to the rim to bring the Wings within one possession. After Lacan put some distance between Connecticut and Dallas with two at the line, Bueckers grabbed a make and the and-1 to close the Sun's lead to one point. Edwards put in a layup, but a Li Yueru three tied it up. Bueckers once again rushed to the board for two and grabbed the and-1 to give Dallas a three-point advantage with just over a minute remaining. Edwards followed that up with her own two and and-1 to tie it all up with 1:07 remaining. Bueckers and Shepard closed the game out at the free throw line to life the Wings to victory.
The Wings made nine three-pointers while the Sun only made three. Connecticut was 22-of-35 from the free throw line while Dallas was 11-of-16.
Game Notes:
The Wings made nine three-pointers; the Sun only made three.
The Sun were 22-of-35 from free throws while the Wings went 11-of-16 from the free throw.
Team Score Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 PTS REB AST
CON 83 22 21 18 21 Lacan - 18 Griner - 11 Lacan - 5
DAL 86 16 19 20 31 Bueckers - 25 Bueckers - 7 Bueckers - 7
NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun travel to Minnesota to face the Lynx on Monday, July 6 at 8 PM EST at Target Center.
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