Sun fall to Sky as Angel Reese logs first career triple-double

Emily Adams, Hartford Courant on Jun 15, 2025

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UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Despite standout performances from the star duo of Tina Charles and Marina Mabrey, the Connecticut Sun fell to last place in the Eastern Conference Commissioner’s Cup standings with a 78-66 loss to the Chicago Sky at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday.

Mabrey led the Sun with 22 points, shooting 7 for 17 from the field and hitting a season-high five 3-pointers, adding five rebounds and three assists. Charles put up 19 points and six rebounds plus an assist and a steal, but the effort wasn’t enough to overcome Chicago’s balanced attack. The Sky finished with five players in double digits and their bench outscored the Sun’s 36-2.

Despite holding forward Angel Reese to just three offensive rebounds, below her average five per game, the Sky star was still one of the most impactful players on the floor with a career-high 11 assists on top of 13 rebounds and 11 points to secure the first triple-double of her career. The Sun also gave up a career-high 16 points to rookie Hailey van Lith, and UConn alum Kia Nurse added 11 points for Chicago.

“We gave (Reese) a lot of space to create some gaps and some advantages for her teammates,” Sun coach Rachid Meziane said. “We have to remember that we did good things against her (on the offensive boards), but at the end of the day, she found a different way to impact the game and help her team win. I feel that we were too soft today, defensively and offensively.”

The Sun fell to 2-8 with the loss, tying the worst start in franchise history through the first 10 games of the season. The last time the team began 2-8 was nearly a decade ago in 2016, the second year of former coach Curt Miller’s tenure.

Connecticut came out strong, beginning on an 8-0 run and forcing Chicago into a timeout barely two minutes into the game. Mabrey had five straight points during the run, but the star guard struggled for the rest of the quarter, giving up three turnovers. Jacy Sheldon made her first start since May 27 with rookie Saniya Rivers limited by an illness, and the second-year guard stepped up for the Sun offensively, matching Mabrey’s five points in the first quarter.

“I just look at it as everything’s an opportunity, and every time you’re on the floor, you should be playing as hard as you can,” Sheldon said. “I think that’s, that’s my role, too … So everything I do, I do it 100 percent and just give it my all, but these girls make it easy too. They’re fun to play with.”

The Sun have struggled defensively throughout the beginning of season, but their early effort was impressive against the Sky. They held Chicago to an 0-for-6 start from the field and forced five turnovers in the opening quarter, which they converted for nine of their 16 points in the first. But the team hit a slump late in the quarter, going scoreless for more than three minutes and giving up an 11-2 run that allowed the Sky to make it a two-point game heading into the second.

Mabrey caught fire in the second quarter, scoring 11 points to lead the Sun with 16 after the first half. She missed just two shots in the quarter, but Chicago found its own offensive rhythm, outscoring Connecticut 24-20 heading into halftime. There were 11 lead changes and four tied scores in the opening half, and a deep 3-pointer from Mabrey in the final seconds gave the Sun momentum despite trailing by two as they entered the locker room.

Emotions ran high early in the second half as the teams continued trading buckets, and tensions came to a head after a hard foul by Bria Hartley against Reese midway through the third quarter. There was a resulting scuffle involving Reese, Nelson-Ododa and Charles, and Charles and Reese were each assessed technical fouls after the exchange.

Charles took over offensively after the heated moment with 11 points in the third quarter, but the rest of the team struggled to maintain composure at either end. Chicago outscored the Sun 14-5 over the final four minutes of the third, and they opened their first double-digit lead of the game early in the fourth with an 8-2 run.

Consistency has been a constant issue for the Sun in most of their losses to date, and sloppiness again began to show down the stretch as they gave up seven of 12 team turnovers in the second half. The free-throw line was also a major separator for the Sky: They scored 17 points at the charity stripe on 18 attempts, while the Sun went 8 for 12.

“I think we take ourselves out of the game when we slow the offense down,” Mabrey said. “Every time we slow our offense down, we create more turnovers for ourselves. Our spacing isn’t as good, and when we’re back in transition defense it’s really hard for us, so I think that’s a pattern that we need to move with pace, but also be calm. I think that’s something we’re really having a problem with, so we’ve got to clean that up.”