Sky-Sun Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted May 14 2010 1:40PM

After missing the playoffs for the first time in seven years, the Connecticut Sun traded one of their most popular players in a surprise offseason move.

In return, however, they got some in-state talent from one of college basketball's most successful programs, and that could key their return to the postseason.

With three UConn players on the roster, the revamped Sun will try to put last season's disappointing finish behind them when they open against the Chicago Sky on Saturday.

Connecticut went 16-18 last season, failing to earn a postseason berth for the first time since 2002 when the franchise was still in Orlando.

Looking to reload, the Sun made one of the WNBA's biggest offseason moves, trading former first-round draft pick Lindsay Whalen to Minnesota. In exchange for Whalen, who helped lead Connecticut to two WNBA finals appearances, the team received former UConn player Renee Montgomery.

Montgomery, who averaged 9.0 points and 2.1 assists last season, won't be the only in-state college product joining the team. The Sun also received former Huskies player Tina Charles, the top pick in the draft, as part of the deal for Whalen.

"The best players from the best programs, they have expectations that are placed on them about how you act, how you compete every day," coach Mike Thibault said. "UConn kids are used to competing every minute of every day."

Asjha Jones rounds out the list of former Huskies that Connecticut will showcase. Jones, who led the Sun in scoring with 16.7 points per game last season, was limited late in the year with a strained left Achilles' tendon.

She underwent surgery in February to remove debris and it's uncertain when she'll be ready to play, though the initial timetable suggested she would miss six to eight weeks. Jones did not participate in preseason action.

Thibault, who signed a contract extension through 2012, told the Sun's official website that getting all the pieces of the team to align will be key to bouncing back.

"I'm not as concerned with the youth as I am with learning to play together," he said. "I think any time you have half of your team being new, it has more to do with that than inexperience."

Thibault and the Sun will open the season against Chicago, which won a franchise-high 16 games last year and is hoping to go a step further by earning its first playoff berth this season - its fifth in the league.

The offseason saw the Sky send leading scorer Candice Dupree to Phoenix in a three-team trade. They also gave up a second-round pick in that deal, but acquired All-Star forward Shameka Christon and Cathrine Kraayeveld from New York.

Christon averaged 16.1 points last season and was named to her first All-Star Game. She joins a team that is hoping for a healthier year from Sylvia Fowles, who missed 10 games last season. Fowles averaged 11.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in 24 games in 2009.

Chicago also hopes to be helped by the addition of Epiphanny Prince, the fourth overall pick in this year's draft. Prince spent last season playing in Europe after three years at Rutgers.

The Sun won three of four against the Sky last year to improve to 9-2 all-time against Chicago.

Charles scores 17 as Sun beat Sky 74-61 in opener

By PAT EATON-ROBB
Posted May 15 2010 5:49PM

UNCASVILLE, Conn.(AP) Tina Charles used to keep a photo of Sylvia Fowles in her college locker to remind her of being dominated by the former LSU center in the 2007 NCAA tournament.

The two met for the first time as professionals on Saturday, and this time it was Charles who took charge, scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in her WNBA debut to lead the Connecticut Sun to a 74-61 victory over Fowles and the Chicago Sky.

Anete Jekabsone-Zogota led the Sun with 18 points, hitting four of her six 3-point shots.

Fowles led Chicago with 16 points and nine rebounds, and Shameka Christon and Jia Perkins each added 11 points.

Connecticut led by as many as 19 in the fist half, before Fowles led Chicago on an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 38-30. Connecticut went on a 16-2 third-quarter run and a 12-0 run to open the fourth and put the game away. A 3-pointer by Tan White made the lead 58-39 late in the third quarter, and it was 72-43 before the Sun eased up.

Charles scored her first WNBA basket on a hook shot over Fowles with 6:18 left in the first quarter. She had eight first-quarter points and six boards, while Fowles scored six of the Sky's first eight points.

Kara Lawson's half-court shot at the first-quarter buzzer gave the Sun a 22-14 lead.

The Sun finished last season at 16-18, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2002. In response, the team revamped the lineup in the offseason. They secured the pick for Charles and Montgomery in a January deal that sent All-Star Lindsay Whalen to the Minnesota Lynx.

Another trade on draft day allowed to Sun to pick up Nebraska's Kelsey Griffin, who had eight points and 10 rebounds.

Former Tennessee star Lawson came over as a free agent and the Sun picked up her former teammate DeMya Walker in the dispersal draft when the Sacramento Monarchs folded.

Walker was not a factor in the opener, getting three early fouls and finishing with just four points.

Two of the Sun's top players from last year will miss the first few games this season. Asjha Jones, who averaged almost 17 points a game last year, is sidelined after undergoing surgery in February on her left Achilles' tendon. Post player Sandrine Gruda is in Europe with the French national team until June.

The Sky seemed to have trouble finding a scorer to replace Candice Dupree, who was sent to Phoenix in the offseason in a three-team deal that gave them Christon and Cathrine Kraayeveld from New York.

• Sky: --
• Sun: --

• Sky: --
• Sun: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
• Officials: #4 Sue Blauch, #8 Daryl Humphrey, #49 Kevin Sparrock
• Attendance: 8072
• Duration: 1:44