Sun come up short after slow start on the offensive end.

Uncasville, CT (June 18, 2025)- Tonight, the Connecticut Sun (2-10) fell to the Phoenix Mercury (9-4), 83-75 at home at Mohegan Sun Arena. The loss marks the Sun’s first “home” loss to the Mercury since September 9, 2020 when they fell 100-95 during the Covid-19 “bubble” season in Florida. The last time Phoenix won a regular season contest in Uncasville was August 27, 2015, 81-80.

Rookie forward Aneesah Morrow tallied a career-high 16 points, nine rebounds, one assist and three steals in 23 minutes off the bench in tonight’s game. She went 5/11 from the floor and 6/8 from the charity stripe in the meaningful effort. Her 16 points off the bench marks the most bench scoring production from an individual Sun player this season.

Jacy Sheldon added 13 points and one assist in the game. She notched all 13 of her points in the second quarter and finished 3/6 from beyond the arc in 24 minutes played. Olivia Nelson-Ododa chipped in a double-double with 10 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. She also added one assist and a season-high three blocks.

The Mercury opened the contest on an 8-0 run to force the Sun into a timeout with 7:05 to play in the first quarter. Connecticut missed their first five field goal attempts of the game. Phoenix outscored Connecticut, 14-9, to take a 22-9 lead into the second. The Sun’s nine first quarter points mark a new season low for a first quarter this season, as they shot 4/19 (21.1%) in the quarter.

An 11-7 start to the second quarter by the Mercury forced the Sun into a timeout with 6:28 to play in the first half. After trailing by as many as 19, 35-16, in the quarter, Connecticut was able to close the gap to five, 39-34, after an 18-4 run. The Mercury closed the half on a 9-2 spurt to push their advantage back up to 12, 48-36, heading into the locker room. Jacy Sheldon led all scorers at the break with 13 points, going 3/4 from beyond the arc in the second quarter.

Phoenix began the second half on a 9-5 run to extend their lead to 16, 57-41, with 3:58 to play in the third quarter. Sun rookies Saniya Rivers and Aneesah Morrow had two and three points respectively to lead Connecticut out of the locker room. Connecticut responded on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to eight, 57-49 and force Phoenix into a timeout with 2:09 to play in the third. The Mercury ended the third on a 7-4 spurt to take an 11-point lead into the fourth, 64-53. Aneesah Morrow notched 12 of her 16 in the third to pace the Sun.

The Sun started the fourth outscoring the Mercury, 14-10, to cut the lead to seven, 74-67, with 3:21 to play in the game. Olivia Nelson-Ododa notched five of Connecticut’s 14 points on that stretch to begin the quarter. Connecticut was able to outscore Phoenix, 22-19, in the final quarter, but dropped the contest, 83-75.

Connecticut finished 36.8% (25/68) from the floor, while Phoenix shot 40.6% (26/64) on the night. Both teams made eight three-point field goals. The Mercury outscored the Sun in the paint (32-26), from the bench (35-33) and on second chance opportunities (12-9), while the Sun held the advantage on the fast break (18-12).

Former Sun forward Alyssa Thomas filled the stat sheet for the Mercury, tallying 14 points, eight rebounds, 11 assists and one steal in her first game back in Uncasville. Satou Sabally added a double-double with 13 points and a team-high 15 rebounds.

NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun host the Dallas Wings for the second time this season on Friday, June 20 at 7:00 PM ET at Mohegan Sun Arena.