{"id":11274,"date":"2025-07-15T09:16:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T09:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/11274\/"},"modified":"2025-07-15T09:16:04","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T09:16:04","slug":"tina-charles-bria-hartley-excited-for-their-first-sun-game-in-boston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/11274\/","title":{"rendered":"Tina Charles, Bria Hartley \u2018excited\u2019 for their first Sun game in Boston"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Connecticut Sun get set for Tuesday\u2019s game against the Indiana Fever at the TD Garden in Boston, Tina Charles is proud to be an active participant of the franchise\u2019s continued efforts to develop and nurture its New England fanbase. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe opportunity to play at the TD Garden and to play against the Indiana Fever, it just shows the growth and the expansion of the league,\u201d Charles said on Friday. \u201cJust the eyes that are on us, the progression that has been made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Between her college career playing at UConn under Geno Auriemma and her first four years in the WNBA with the Sun, Charles has long been monumental figure for women\u2019s basketball in New England. It\u2019s only fitting that the future Hall of Famer receives her flowers from the Boston community.<\/p>\n

\"ConnecticutSEATTLE, WA – JULY 11 : Tina Charles #31 of the Connecticut Sun handles the ball during the game against the Seattle Storm on July 11, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Scott Eklund\/NBAE via Getty Images)NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s (going to) be exciting, I\u2019m happy that even in my career, that I\u2019m able to be a part of it,\u201d Charles said. \u201cI\u2019m at the end, (but) I\u2019m really excited for the new guys that are here, like Saniya (Rivers) and Aneesah (Morrow) and Rayah (Marshall), to have that type of experience and to be in front of that type of crowd, NBA-crowd and seating, it\u2019s (going to) be exciting, I\u2019m very thankful to be a part of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody is taking away from the \u2018Caitlin Clark effect\u2019, but at the same time, you\u2019re able to grow a community fanbase, young boys and girls can come out and see us play and dream and aspire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow UConn Husky Bria Hartley is also looking forward to playing her first game in Boston.<\/p>\n

\"ConnecticutWASHINGTON, D.C. – JUNE 8: Bria Hartley #14 of the Connecticut Sun shoots the ball during the game against the Washington Mystics on June 8, 2025 at Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Stephen Goslings\/NBAE via Getty Images)NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

She had grown fond of the city during her time in Storrs, Conn., with family currently residing in Boston. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really, really excited to play (in Boston),\u201d Hartley said on Sunday. \u201cI\u2019ve never played there before… (but) I spent a lot of time in Boston (while in Connecticut). My stepfather went to Boston College, my brother lives in Boston, I\u2019m just really excited to play in front of that crowd and in front of that community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hartley joined the Sun midway through training camp with less than a week before the regular season started. Nearly three years have past since Hartley suffered a season-ending torn left ACL in 2022, which resulted in a two-year absence from the WNBA. <\/p>\n

Hartley has played in all 21 games for the Sun this season and started in 15, her highest mark in either category since 2019. While her shooting efficiency has room for improvement (33.9% from the field), her vision and scoring ability have quickly made her an important cog within the Sun\u2019s guard rotation. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith my story, I\u2019m just blessed to be out there,\u201d said the 11th-year veteran, having previously torn her right ACL in 2020. \u201cI feel the best I\u2019ve felt in years, as far as that, but I make sure I get my recovery in and I do a lot less than what I did when I was younger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tip-off for the Sun\u2019s game against the Fever on Tuesday is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN. <\/p>\n

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the Connecticut Sun get set for Tuesday\u2019s game against the Indiana Fever at the TD Garden in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[11235,402,99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-11274","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-11235","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}