Connecticut defeats Golden State for the first time ever

Uncasville, CT (July 27, 2025)- Today, the Connecticut Sun (4-20) took down the Golden State Valkyries (11-13), 95-64, at home at Mohegan Sun Arena. The win marked the Sun’s first win against the newest WNBA franchise. Connecticut moves to 1-1 against Golden State this season, with their final regular season match up scheduled for August 11 in San Francisco.

Tina Charles led the Sun in the win, tallying 24 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in just 19 minutes played. She finished 8/11 from the field and 7/7 from the free-throw line. She also finished with a team-best +/- at +39 on the day. Charles dished out two assists in the game, which puts her just one shy of 1,000 assists in her WNBA career.

Marina Mabrey re-entered the starting lineup for the Sun in today’s game. She finished with 15 points and a team-high four assists in 20 minutes of action. Bria Hartley added 15 points, three assists and one steal, while Jacy Sheldon led the bench production with 13 points, going 3/4 from beyond the arc in the win.

The Sun took an 11-6 lead over the Valkyries heading into the first media timeout of the contest. Four of the five Connecticut starters notched a bucket in the opening five minutes. Connecticut closed the first on a 12-9 spurt to take an eight-point lead, 23-15, heading into the second. Bria Hartley led the Sun with seven points, going 2/3 from beyond the arc in the first quarter of play.

Connecticut began the second on an 11-0 run to take a 19-point lead, 34-15, 6:40 to play in the first half. Tina Charles had six of the Sun’s 11 points to start the second. Golden State responded on a 9-0 run of their own to close the gap to ten, 34-24, with 4:13 to go in the half. The Sun closed the second outscoring the Valkyries, 15-9, to take a 16-point lead into the locker room, 49-33. Three Sun players finished the first half in double figures, with Tina Charles notching 13 points and Marina Mabrey and Bria Hartley each adding 12 points. Connecticut scored 24 of their 49 points off Golden State’s 13 turnovers in the first half.

The Sun opened the second half on a 9-0 run, extending their lead to 25, 58-33 with 7:06 to play in the third. Tina Charles had six of Connecticut’s nine points in the opening minutes of the second half. Golden State closed it back down to 16, 63-47, but Connecticut ended the quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 26-point lead into the fourth, 75-49. Tina Charles scored 11 of her 24 points in the ten minutes coming out of the locker room to pace the Sun.

A 15-9 start to the fourth extended Connecticut’s lead to 31, 90-59, forcing Golden State into a timeout with 4:41 to play in the game. Jacy Sheldon tallied five of the Sun’s 15 points to begin the final quarter. Connecticut went on to outscore Golden State, 20-15, in the final frame to secure the 95-64 win.

The Sun’s 31-point victory marks the team’s first 30+ point regular season win since September 19, 2024, third 30+ points win in the last four regular seasons and 15^th 30+ point win in franchise regular season history.

Golden State was led by Iliana Rupert who notched 13 points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 22 minutes played off the bench in the game. Former Sun guard Veronica Burton made her return to Mohegan Sun Arena, tallying 10 points, two rebounds, three assists and one steal in the effort for the Valkyries.

Notes:

• The Sun hit new season-highs in points (95), field goal percentage (53%), field goals made (35), three-point field goals made (12) and steals (14) in today’s game.
• Rookie guard Leila Lacan grabbed a career-high six steals in the win. It marks the most steals in a single game by a Sun player this season and the 19^th time in franchise history a Sun player has achieved that total during a regular season game.
• The Sun won the rebound margin (32-24), assist margin (21-15), paint (36-22), fast break (6-5) and second chance opportunities (14-2).
• Connecticut forced Golden State into 24 turnovers, the most by any opponent this season. The Sun scored 34 points off of those 24 mistakes.
• In her third start of the season, Aneesah Morrow grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds, along with eight points, two steals and one block.

NEXT GAME: The Connecticut Sun are back in action tomorrow night (Monday July 28) to host the Seattle Storm at 7:00 PM ET at Mohegan Sun Arena.