Sun Pick up First Win of the Season in Late-Game Thriller against Storm
WNBA Connecticut Sun

Sun Pick up First Win of the Season in Late-Game Thriller against Storm

Published on May 21, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Connecticut Sun News Release


Seattle, WA - Tonight, the Connecticut Sun (1-5) defeated the Seattle Storm (1-4), 80-78, at Climate Change Center. The contest was the Sun's first win of the season.

Off 16 points, Charlisse Leger-Walker paced the Sun, while Nell Angloma and Kennedy Burke knocked down 15 points apiece. Aaliyah Edwards put up 12 points, while Raegan Beers collected her first 10-piece of the season, nearly grabbing a double-double in the process, with eight rebounds off the bench.

Connecticut opened the scoring column first with Aneesah Morrow finding success on a putback after a miss from Gianna Kneepkens. Seattle quickly responded, building a five-point lead spearheaded by Natisha Hiedeman and Flau'jae Johnson, who earned five and four points respectively. Out of the timeout, Angloma provided a spark for the Sun, picking up four points to bring Connecticut within one. Beers got the Sun into an offensive rhythm with her work in the paint pushing the Sun out 13-11. Burke found her footing chipping in with a 24' three-pointer to give the Sun a 19-14 lead. The Storm started to find momentum with Mackenzie Holmes, Zia Cooke and Hiedeman using a late quarter push to cut the deficit down to six to end the first.

Building off the late push in the first, Cooke started the second with a quick two to chip away at Connecticut's lead. Angloma and Cooke traded shots, but it was Cooke that gave Seattle the offensive push needed as she trimmed the gap to two. The Storm regained the lead, 34-33, after two consecutive buckets from Holmes down low. Despite going scoreless in the first quarter, Edwards picked up her first points at the line to tie the game. Burke and Angloma answered with two points apiece, but Holmes came in clutch for the Storm with another two to tighten the margin. Neither team could be put away as the lead remained under five for the last two minutes of the half. With under 20 seconds left in the quarter, Burke knocked down a shot from deep to give the Sun a 46-41 lead heading into the break.

The third quarter started off with both teams exchanging shots, neither able to create separation. After a quiet first half, Diamond Miller got on the board, cutting to the rim following a dish from Leger-Walker. With the Sun holding a 52-48 edge, offense for both sides stalled until Leger-Walker dropped in seven points to maintain the lead 59-55. Edwards added four to end the quarter and extend the Sun lead 63-59 heading into the final frame. The Sun controlled the glass throughout the quarter, 10-5, with Beers collecting four throughout the frame. Seattle was never able to fully close the gap throughout the third, with Connecticut holding its advantage between two and seven points.

Lexie Brown turned her defense into offense picking up a steal and converting the layup to get things started in the fourth. Seattle came alive as they cut the Sun lead to one, but Connecticut capitalized off a trip to the charity stripe before Burke connected from beyond the arc quickly creating a five-point advantage. Brown shouldered most of the scoring for the Storm, but Connecticut's offense continued to put up a fight on the offensive end. In the final stretch, Ashlon Jackson snagged her second steal and fourth point of the night, but Hiedeman put the Storm within three after knocking down a 29' shot with under three minutes left to kickstart a 11-2 run in the waning minute of regulation, where Seattle took a three-point lead. Edwards posted a make to bring the Sun within one in the final minute. Leger-Walker dished out to Burke with under three seconds left and Burke secured a contested layup to grab the and-1 to put Connecticut back on top with 2.8 seconds remaining, sealing Connecticut's first win of the season.

While the Sun put up seven more makes and eight more attempts at field-goal range, the Storm outpaced the Sun in free throws (22-of-25 vs. 11-of-17), a common theme Connecticut has been revisiting early. Connecticut dominated Seattle in multiple categories, including rebounds (38-26), points in the paint (50-36), points off the bench (62-39), points off turnovers (20-11), fastbreak points (14-4), and second chance points (12-8). The Storm did create more steals, 6-3, and block more shots, 6-3, but it wasn't enough to stop the Sun's momentum.

Notes:

Connecticut's bench grabbed 40 points in the first half and 62 points overall marking the most bench points in a single game in franchise history.

Angloma recorded a 15-point performance off 7-of-12 shooting, settling into the Sun's offensive scheme.

Burke knocked down the game-winning shot to propel the Sun into the win column after five straight losses.

Team Score Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 PTS REB AST

CON 80 29 17 17 17 Leger-Walker - 16 Beers - 8 Edwards/Leger-Walker/Rivers - 3

SEA 78 23 18 18 19 Hiedeman - 20 Holmes - 6 Hiedeman - 5

NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun remain on the road as they face the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena. Tipoff is set for Friday, May 22 at 7:00pm PST/10:00pm EST.

Check out the Connecticut Sun Statistics

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