Sun drop to 1-2 against Valkyries in 2025

San Francisco, CA- Tonight, the Connecticut Sun (5-26) fell to the Golden State Valkyries (16-15), 74-57, on the road in San Francisco. With the loss, the Sun drop the 2025 regular season series with the Valkyries, 1-2.

Connecticut debuted a new starting lineup of Bria Hartley, Marina Mabrey, Leila Lacan, Aneesah Morrow and Olivia Nelson-Ododa. Nelson-Ododa stepped back into the starting lineup with Sun center Tina Charles missing the game due to rest.

Rookie forward Aneesah Morrow led Connecticut with her third double-double of the season. She notched 14 points, 13 rebounds and one steal in 24 minutes played in the game. Olivia Nelson-Ododa was the only other Sun player in double figures, tallying 12 points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks. She finished a perfect 5/5 from the field on the night.

The Sun trailed the Valkyries, 12-6, heading into the first timeout of the contest. Connecticut started just 30% (3/10) from the field, while Golden State began the game shooting 62.5% (5/8). Both teams struggled shooting to finish the quarter, as the Sun closed the first on a 4-2 spurt to cut the deficit to four, 14-10, heading into the second. The Sun shot just 23.5% (4/17) in the first quarter, including 0/7 from beyond the arc.

Golden State began the second on a 7-3 run to force Connecticut into a timeout with 6:17 to play in the first half, 21-13. After the Sun started 0/8 from beyond the arc, Saniya Rivers stopped the drought with a three-pointer to start the quarter. Connecticut responded on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to two, 21-19, with 4:35 to play in the second. An 11-7 close to the half by Golden State gave them a 32-26 lead at the break. Saniya Rivers led all Connecticut scorers with nine points, three rebounds, two steals and one block in the first half. The Sun’s 26 first-half points tied a season-low for first-half points in 2025.

The Sun cut the Valkyries lead to four, 32-28, with a jumper by Aneesah Morrow to begin the second half, but Golden State went on a 13-5 run to take a 45-33 lead and force Connecticut to burn a timeout with 6:05 to play in the third. The Sun closed the third quarter on an 11-10 run to close the gap to 11, 55-44, heading into the fourth. Olivia Nelson-Ododa paced Connecticut in the third with nine points, including her first three-point field goal of her career.

A 4-0 start to the fourth by the Sun trimmed the deficit to seven, 55-48, but Golden State responded on an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 15, 63-48, with 7:18 to play in the game. The Valkyries went on to outscore the Sun, 19-13, in the final ten minutes of action to secure the 74-57 win. Leila Lacan led the Sun with five points in the final quarter. Golden State notched five of their 13 three-point field goals in the fourth quarter, going 5/10 from beyond the arc.

The Sun shot 34.4% (21/61) while the Valkyries shot 41.3% (26/63) in the game. Golden State hit 13 three-point field goals in the game, the second most the Sun have given up in a game this season. After hitting a combined 25 three-point field goals over their last two games, Connecticut finished just 5/25 (20%) in tonight’s game.

Tiffany Hayes and Cecilia Zandalasini each tallied 17 points to lead the Valkyries in the game. Janelle Salaün added 16 points of her own, going 4/7 from beyond the three-point arc.

Notes:

• Connecticut won the fast break (10-0) and the bench scoring production (20-15), but Golden State held the advantage in the paint (22-20) and in second chance points (10-5).
• Saniya Rivers finished with nine points, five rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block. It marks her 18^th game with at least 2 steals this season.
• Aaliyah Edwards notched eight points, the most thus far in her Sun career. She also added five rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes off the bench.
• The Valkyries scored 16 points off of the Sun’s 14 turnovers, while Golden State turned the ball over just nine times, resulting in 11 points for Connecticut.

NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun return home to host the Chicago Sky on Wednesday, August 13 at 7:00 PM ET at Mohegan Sun Arena.