2015 Connecticut Sun season
WNBA team season
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The 2015 WNBA season was the seventeenth season for the Connecticut Sun franchise of the Women's National Basketball Association.[1] The Sun started the season with a loss against the Washington Mystics 73–68 on June 5. After the opening night loss, the Sun went on a seven game winning streak. They defeated Atlanta and Los Angeles twice over this stretch and the run included four away wins. Their largest win of the stretch was a twenty-one point victory in Seattle. They lost to Indiana to finish the month 7–2. Their losing streak extended into June and lasted a total of six games. They lost to Chicago twice to open July and their July 12 96–76 loss was their largest of the streak. The streak ended on July 22 with a 78–77 overtime victory in Minnesota. They lost their next game against Indiana but defeated Seattle by one point to finish the month 2–6. They lost their opening game of August against Indiana, but won three of their next four games. The Sun defeated San Antonio, split a back-to-back with Washington and defeated Tulsa. The team then went on a seven-game losing streak where they lost to Atlanta three times, New York twice, Tulsa, and Phoenix. They ended the streak on August 30, with a 72–68 defeat of Chicago. The Sun finished August 4–9. They went 2–2 in September, losing to Indiana and New York while defeating San Antonio and Chicago in the final game of the season. Their final record of 15–19 saw them finish tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference. They did not qualify for the playoffs. After the season, head coach Anne Donovan resigned.[2]
| 2015 Connecticut Sun season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Anne Donovan |
| Arena | Mohegan Sun Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 15–19 (.441) |
| Place | T-5th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Transactions
WNBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Elizabeth Williams |  United States |
Duke |
| 2 | 19 | Brittany Hrynko | DePaul |
Trades/Roster Changes
| Date | Trade | |
|---|---|---|
| January 28 | The Sun acquired Renee Montgomery and the 3rd and 15th picks in the 2015 WNBA Draft in exchange for Camille Little and Shekinna Stricklen.[3] | |
| February 26 | Signed Kayla Pedersen[4] | |
| April 16 | The Sun acquired Jasmine Thomas in exchange for the draft rights to Brittany Hrynko.[5] | |
| May 13 | The Sun acquired the 23rd pick in the 2016 WNBA draft in exchange for Asjha Jones.[6] | |
Roster
| 2015 Connecticut Sun roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Game log
Preseason
| 2015 pre-season game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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May: 2–1 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–0)
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| 2015 pre-season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
| 2015 game log Total: 15–19 (Home: 8–9; Road: 7–10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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June: 7–2 (Home: 3–2; Road: 4–0)
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July: 2–6 (Home: 1–3; Road: 1–3)
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August: 4–9 (Home: 3–4; Road: 1–5)
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September: 2–2 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–2)
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| 2015 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Standings
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x - New York Liberty | 23 | 11 | .676 | – | 12–5 | 11–6 | 13–9 |
| x - Chicago Sky | 21 | 13 | .618 | 2 | 13–4 | 8–9 | 14–8 |
| x - Indiana Fever | 20 | 14 | .588 | 3 | 11–6 | 9–8 | 13–9 |
| x - Washington Mystics | 18 | 16 | .529 | 5 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 10–12 |
| e - Atlanta Dream | 15 | 19 | .441 | 8 | 9–8 | 6–11 | 10–12 |
| e - Connecticut Sun | 15 | 19 | .441 | 8 | 8–9 | 7–10 | 6–16 |
Statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
| PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader | ||||
Regular season
Source:[7]
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Bentley | 25 | 25 | 30.0 | 40.9% | 33.6% | 83.0% | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 14.7 |
| Kelsey Bone | 34 | 33 | 28.3 | 50.8% | 0.0% | 62.2% | 6.1 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 15.0 |
| Camille Little | 34 | 34 | 27.0 | 40.6% | 34.5% | 87.9% | 3.6 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 8.2 |
| Jasmine Thomas | 34 | 34 | 26.7 | 32.8% | 29.8% | 78.3% | 3.7 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 8.2 |
| Alyssa Thomas | 24 | 23 | 26.0 | 41.1% | — | 69.2% | 5.3 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 8.8 |
| Shekinna Stricklen | 34 | 0 | 17.6 | 41.1% | 35.9% | 78.6% | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 7.7 |
| Jennifer Lacy | 19 | 11 | 16.7 | 44.4% | 35.4% | 75.7% | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 7.0 |
| Chelsea Gray | 34 | 0 | 16.0 | 42.4% | 34.8% | 81.6% | 2.3 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 6.9 |
| Kayla Pedersen | 33 | 1 | 15.5 | 43.3% | — | 82.6% | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 2.9 |
| Kelly Faris | 32 | 9 | 14.5 | 38.1% | 31.0% | 77.8% | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 2.9 |
| Elizabeth Williams | 21 | 0 | 11.7 | 52.8% | — | 56.0% | 3.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 3.3 |
| Nikki Greene | 12 | 0 | 8.4 | 40.0% | — | 85.7% | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.2 |
| Inga Orekhova | 4 | 0 | 2.8 | 0.0% | 0.0% | — | 0.3 | — | — | — | — |
Awards and honors
| Recipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelsey Bone | WNBA Most Improved Player | October 1, 2015 | [9] |