{"id":83199,"date":"2025-08-14T22:02:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T22:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/83199\/"},"modified":"2025-08-14T22:02:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T22:02:08","slug":"ct-suns-young-core-brings-the-joy-in-chicago-sky-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/83199\/","title":{"rendered":"CT Sun’s young core brings the joy in Chicago Sky win"},"content":{"rendered":"

UNCASVILLE \u2014 When Saniya Rivers<\/a> and Aaliyah Edwards<\/a> heard the Cupid Shuffle begin to blare through the speakers during Wednesday night\u2019s game between the Connecticut Sun<\/a> and Chicago Sky, it didn\u2019t matter that the rest of the arena was in the middle of a heated moment.<\/p>\n

Both immediately fell into the muscle memory of the popular line dance, giggling as they stepped side to side and spun in a circle in tandem in the Sun\u2019s huddle. Behind them, the officials continued a nearly 10-minute review of a dust-up between teammate Bria Hartley<\/a> and Sky forward Rebecca Allen<\/a> that eventually resulted in both players plus Chicago\u2019s Ariel Atkins<\/a> being ejected from the game.<\/p>\n

From the outside, it might\u2019ve looked like the team was losing focus, messing around on the sideline instead of staying locked in during the extended break. But keeping joy in the game has become a key to success for the Sun\u2019s young core amid a difficult rebuilding season, and the team went on to secure just its sixth victory of the season, 71-62 over the Sky<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s just the little things,\u201d Rivers said. \u201cI think we fight, and once we hype each other up, turn on some tunes, get smiling at each other, I think we just have a really good time. I\u2019ve learned that we play our best when we\u2019re having fun and smiling and supporting each other, and if we can continue to do that down the stretch, we\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even before Connecticut took the court to face the Sky, coach Rachid Meziane could feel the lighthearted energy around the team when they arrived at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Sun entered the matchup on a five-game losing streak following a winless four-game road trip on the West Coast, and Wednesday\u2019s matchup was their third in four days.<\/p>\n

But the team that showed up against Chicago didn\u2019t look exhausted or jet-lagged. Instead it led for the entire game after the final minute of the first quarter, jumping out to a 12-point lead in the first half with a high-intensity effort led by its young stars. French rookie Leila Lacan<\/a> and 2025 first-round pick Aneesah Morrow<\/a> combined for 13 of the Sun\u2019s 21 points in the opening quarter, and Rivers tied her season-high in assists with six before halftime. The trio also combined for three of Connecticut\u2019s six steals, contributing to nine first-half turnovers by the Sky.<\/p>\n

\"Connecticut<\/p>\n

Connecticut Sun<\/p>\n

Connecticut Sun huddle before the game against the Chicago Sky on August 13, 2025 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Photo by Chris Marion\/NBAE via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy when you win to play with some fun and some joy, but I saw it before the game during the (starting lineup) presentation that they were connected and dancing, so I felt that joy,\u201d Meziane said. \u201cThe joy and pleasure, it\u2019s part of our job, (when) we take pleasure in playing together, in fighting hard, in sharing the ball \u2026 They are young, so sometimes they forget very fast, but I hope winning can just build on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of the locker room spark came from the new addition of Edwards, who was traded to Connecticut by the Washington Mystics hours before the WNBA\u2019s trade deadline last Thursday. Edwards was put in a difficult position, joining the Sun in the middle of the long road trip and transitioning from a squad that was still in the mix for postseason contention to the team with the worst record in the league.<\/p>\n

But the former UConn star instantly meshed with Connecticut\u2019s rookies, and Rivers said it already feels like Edwards has been a part of the group since the start of the season. Meziane said the sophomore forward comes into the gym every day with a smile and consistent work ethic, describing her \u201clike sunshine\u201d for the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh man, I love Aaliyah. We\u2019re an energetic group, so she fit in perfectly,\u201d Rivers said. \u201cWe blast music before every game and just get lit together, and she just jumped right in \u2026 She\u2019s obviously a big presence on both offense and defense, so I think she\u2019s very special, and she shares the ball, so I think she\u2019s a great addition to this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aaliyah Edwards embracing new opportunity, UConn reunions after trade to Connecticut Sun<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Lacan provided a similar boost when joined the Sun late in the season, arriving just before the All-Star break after competing with the French national team in EuroBasket. Lacan speaks little English and had never been to the United States outside of New York City before signing with Connecticut, but she earned the trust of her teammates almost immediately with her energy on the court.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old has developed tremendously just 15 games into her WNBA career, and she anchored the team on both ends of the floor in the win over Chicago. She logged a team-high 17 points plus five assists and four rebounds, three of which were offensive boards that resulted in points for the Sun. She also grabbed two steals and made a critical defensive play on Sky guard Hailey Van Lith to force an eight-second violation in the final minute of the third quarter.<\/p>\n

Though Lacan is a more reserved presence off the court, Rivers said the team is quickly pulling her out of her shell.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe doesn\u2019t give herself enough credit, but I\u2019ll give her her flowers. She\u2019s an amazing player and a cool person, great energy, and she just works hard and makes sure that she brings us together,\u201d Rivers said. \u201cHer English is coming a long way, so I\u2019m really proud of her. She\u2019s getting out of her comfort zone. We\u2019ve got her in the locker room dancing now.\u201d<\/p>\n

What rise of Connecticut Sun rookie Leila Lacan says about international growth in the WNBA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Sun veteran Tina Charles is more than a decade older than Connecticut\u2019s rookie stars, but their youthful joy is permeating the entire team. Charles, who played just seven and a half minutes in the first half against Chicago, was one of the biggest cheerleaders while on the bench, and Rivers said the 36-year-old has taken to showing off dance moves in the pregame huddle that even she isn\u2019t able to master.<\/p>\n

\u201cTina almost knocked me over (today) because she was so excited,\u201d Rivers said with a grin. \u201cThis game when she saw us out there going, she was like \u2018Hey go ahead young legs, y\u2019all go and be out there. I\u2019m gonna chill over on the bench.\u2019 So she was over there hyping us up \u2026 Before the game today she did this little heel-toe and it was real smooth. I can\u2019t even do it, and I think I\u2019m the best dancer on the team, so I\u2019m gonna have to learn that from her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally Published: August 14, 2025 at 7:37 AM EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UNCASVILLE \u2014 When Saniya Rivers and Aaliyah Edwards heard the Cupid Shuffle begin to blare through the speakers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":83200,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[53534,27040,33992,438,2000,4384,15861,15862,27038,983,12816,27044,27041,99,27042,434,2088],"class_list":["post-83199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-aaliyah-edwards","tag-aneesah-morrow","tag-bria-hartley","tag-chicago-sky","tag-connecticut","tag-connecticut-sun","tag-ct-news","tag-hartford-courant","tag-leila-lacan","tag-local-news","tag-marina-mabrey","tag-rachid-meziane","tag-saniya-rivers","tag-sports","tag-tina-charles","tag-wnba","tag-womens-basketball"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83199","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=83199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}