Rookie Ashlon Jackson sank five 3-pointers to highlight her career-high 18-point performance, fueling the Connecticut Sun to a 95-81 victory over the Toronto Tempo on Thursday in their farewell game at Uncasville, Conn.
Raegan Beers added a career-high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds in the season finale for the Sun, who are relocating to Houston and rebranding as the Comets in 2027. The team moved to Connecticut in 2003 from Orlando.
The crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena gave the Sun players a standing ovation at the conclusion of the game.
Former UConn star Aaliyah Edwards had 16 points for Connecticut (11-33), which outscored Toronto by a 31-21 margin in the third quarter en route to snapping a six-game losing streak. The Sun also salvaged the finale of the three-game season series versus the Tempo.
Connecticut won its season finale due in large part to the play of its bench players, namely Jackson, Hailey Van Lith (12 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) and Gianna Kneepkens (12 points) as well as its dominance in the interior. The Sun held a 54-38 advantage in points in the paint.
Toronto rookie Kiki Rice collected a career-high 28 points and eight rebounds and Isabelle Harrison added 19 and 10, respectively.
The Tempo (11-33), however, made just 5 of 29 attempts from 3-point range en route to losing their eighth in a row and 20th in their last 21 games.
Laura Juskaite sank a short jumper to pull Toronto within one point at 49-48 before Van Lith made three buckets and Kneepkens drained a 3-pointer and a basket on the interior during a 15-5 run by Connecticut.
Rookie Nell Angioma made a driving layup to extend the Sun’s lead to 79-63 midway through the fourth quarter. The outcome was not in doubt the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media
