2005 Connecticut Sun season

The 2005 WNBA season was their seventh season and their third in Connecticut. The Sun attempted to return to the postseason for the third consecutive season and were successful. They also attempted to return to the WNBA Finals for the second consecutive year and were successful.

2005 Connecticut Sun season
CoachMike Thibault
ArenaMohegan Sun Arena
Attendance7,173 per game
Results
Record26–8 (.765)
Place1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishLost in WNBA Finals
Team Leaders
PointsNykesha Sales (15.6)
ReboundsTaj McW.-Franklin (7.3)
AssistsLindsay Whalen (5.1)

Offseason edit

WNBA draft edit

RoundPickPlayerNationalitySchool/Team/Country
18Katie (Feenstra) Mattera  United StatesLiberty
221Erin Phillips  AustraliaAustralia
334Megan Mahoney  United StatesKansas State

[1]

Transactions edit

  • May 16: The Sun waived Maria Conlon and Anna Montanana.
  • May 11: The Sun waived Jess Strom.
  • May 9: The Sun waived Jennifer Lacy.
  • May 5: The Sun signed Taj McWilliams-Franklin to a contract extension.
  • May 5: The Sun waived Erika Valek.
  • May 3: The Sun waived Candace Futrell.
  • April 29: The Sun waived Katie Endress, Beth Swink, Dena Williams, Petra Glaeser, and Shannon Howell.
  • April 27: The Sun signed Beth Swink and Jennifery Lacy.
  • April 22: The Sun signed Jess Strom.
  • April 21: The Sun signed Katie Endress.
  • April 19: The Sun signed Anna Montanana.
  • April 18: The Sun signed Dena Williams and Maria Conlon.
  • April 13: The Sun signed Erika Valek.

[2]

Roster edit

Connecticut Sun roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G10 Carey, Jamie5' 6" (1.68m)135 lb (61kg)Texas
F22 Brungo, Jessica6' 1" (1.85m)165 lb (75kg)Penn State
G34 Derevjanik, Jennifer5' 10" (1.78m)140 lb (64kg)George Mason
G/F32 Douglas, Katie6' 0" (1.83m)165 lb (75kg)Purdue
C12 Dydek, Margo7' 2" (2.18m)223 lb (101kg)Poland
F15 Jones, Asjha6' 2" (1.88m)196 lb (89kg)Connecticut
G/F24 Mahoney, Megan (DP)6' 0" (1.83m)160 lb (73kg)Kansas State
F/C11 McWilliams-Franklin, Taj (C)6' 2" (1.88m)184 lb (83kg)St. Edward's College
G31 Phillips, Erin (DP)5' 7" (1.7m)162 lb (73kg)Australia
G/F42 Sales, Nykesha (C)6' 0" (1.83m)175 lb (79kg)Connecticut
C14 Summerton, Laura6' 2" (1.88m)167 lb (76kg)Australia
G13 Whalen, Lindsay5' 8" (1.73m)150 lb (68kg)Minnesota
F43 Willingham, Le'Coe6' 0" (1.83m)200 lb (91kg)Auburn
F21 Wyckoff, Brooke6' 1" (1.85m)183 lb (83kg)Florida State
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Athletic trainer
  • Jen Brodeur
Strength and conditioning coach

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Season standings edit

Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Connecticut Sun x268.76514–312–513–7
Indiana Fever x2113.6185.014–37–1014–6
New York Liberty x1816.5298.010–78–99–11
Detroit Shock x1618.47110.012–54–1311–9
Washington Mystics o1618.47110.010–76–119–11
Charlotte Sting o628.17620.05–121–164–16

Schedule edit

Preseason edit

2005 Game Log: Preseason
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocationRecord
1May 1MinnesotaW 76-71Whalen (13)Willingham (7)N/AMohegan Sun Arena1-0
2May 8CharlotteW 69-64Jones (15)Jones (6)N/AMohegan Sun Arena2-0
3May 12@ HoustonL 57-67Whalen, Sales (14)Dydek, Sales (7)N/AToyota Center2-1
4May 14@ MinnesotaW 91-66Whalen (16)McWilliams-Franklin (9)N/ATarget Center3-1

Regular season edit

2005 Game Log: Regular Season
May
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocationRecord
1May 21@ DetroitL 67-78McWilliams-Franklin (25)McWilliams-Franklin (10)Whalen (7)Palace of Auburn Hills
9,245
0-1
2May 22@ WashingtonW 68-67Douglas (16)McWilliams-Franklin (6)Whalen (4)MCI Center
11,155
1-1
3May 28PhoenixW 85-68McWilliams-Franklin (25)McWilliams-Franklin (9)Whalen (6)Mohegan Sun Arena
9,341 (sellout)
2-1
July
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocationRecord
15July 7@ New YorkL 79-89Whalen (24)McWilliams-Franklin (8)Whalen (5)Madison Square Garden12-3
16July 13@ IndianaL 53-64Sales (15)Douglas (7)Whalen (4)Conseco Fieldhouse12-4
17July 15HoustonW 70-66Sales (22)Dydek (7)Whalen (5)Mohegan Sun Arena13-4
18July 17@ MinnesotaW 72-53Dydek (17)Dydek (8)Douglas, Dydek (4)Target Center14-4
19July 19@ CharlotteW 64-55Douglas (15)Dydek (11)Whalen (6)Charlotte Bobcats Arena15-4
20July 20@ DetroitL 57-66Sales (17)McWilliams-Franklin (11)Sales, Whalen, Wyckoff (3)Palace of Auburn Hills15-5
21July 22CharlotteW 73-63Sales (21)Sales (8)Whalen (7)Mohegan Sun Arena16-5
22July 26IndianaW 68-55Sales (19)Dydek (12)Whalen (5)Mohegan Sun Arena17-5
23July 28New YorkW 73-70Sales (21)Douglas, Jones, McWilliams-Franklin (6)Whalen (6)Mohegan Sun Arena18-5
24July 30DetroitL 66-75Dydek (16)Dydek (9)Douglas (4)Mohegan Sun Arena18-6
August
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocationRecord
25August 2@ New YorkW 72-65McWilliams-Franklin (19)McWilliams-Franklin (7)Whalen (6)Madison Square Garden19-6
26August 6@ IndianaW 74-65Sales (26)McWilliams-Franklin (12)Whalen (6)Conseco Fieldhouse20-6
27August 9Los AngelesW 64-51Douglas (22)Douglas (8)Whalen (6)Mohegan Sun Arena21-6
28August 11@ WashingtonW 80-65Sales (20)McWilliams-Franklin (10)Douglas, Whalen (4)MCI Center22-6
29August 14WashingtonW 80-77Sales (17)McWilliams-Franklin (7)Douglas (5)Mohegan Sun Arena23-6
30August 18CharlotteW 84-70Whalen (28)McWilliams-Franklin (11)Whalen (6)Mohegan Sun Arena24-6
31August 20New YorkL 58-64Whalen (22)McWilliams-Franklin (11)Sales, Whalen (3)Mohegan Sun Arena24-7
32August 23IndianaL 63-69McWilliams-Franklin (16)McWilliams-Franklin (4)Whalen (5)Mohegan Sun Arena24-8
33August 26WashingtonW 81-47Sales (20)Dydek (11)Whalen (4)Mohegan Sun Arena25-8
34August 27@ CharlotteW 78-69Jones (22)Dydek, Jones (9)Whalen (4)Charlotte Bobcats Arena26-8

Playoffs edit

In the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Sun had to face the Detroit Shock. Since the Sun had the better record, the series would be played with game 1 at Detroit, game 2 at Connecticut, and game 3 (if needed) at Connecticut. Even though Detroit had won three of the four regular season meetings, the Sun swept the Shock and game 3 was not needed.In the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Sun had to face the Indiana Fever. Again, the Sun had the better record and the series would be played with game 1 at Indiana and games 2 and 3 (if needed) at Connecticut. The Sun swept the Fever and game 3 was not needed.The Sun advanced to the WNBA Finals. The team would be facing off against the Sacramento Monarchs. The Sun had the better record so the series would be played with games 1, 2, and 5 at Connecticut and games 3 and 4 at Sacramento. In the regular season, the Sun had beaten the Monarchs in both meetings. It was not enough, however. The Monarchs beat the Sun 3 games to 1 to win the WNBA Finals.

  • For the third consecutive season, the Sun qualify for the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
  • For the third consecutive season, the Sun advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
  • For the second consecutive season, the Sun advance to the WNBA Finals.
2005 Game Log: Postseason
Eastern Conference Semifinals
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1August 31@ DetroitW 73-62Sales (19)McWilliams-Franklin (9)Whalen (5)Palace of Auburn Hills
5,930
1-0
2September 2DetroitW 75-67Whalen (27)Sales (12)Whalen (3)Mohegan Sun Arena
8,167
2-0
Eastern Conference Finals
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1September 8@ IndianaW 73-68McWilliams-Franklin (24)Whalen (7)Douglas (3)Conseco Fieldhouse
8,777
1-0
2September 10IndianaW 77-67 (OT)McWilliams-Franklin (15)McWilliams-Franklin, Dydek (7)Whalen, Derevjanik (4)Mohegan Sun Arena
7,588
2-0
WNBA Finals
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1September 14SacramentoL 55-79Sales (23)McWilliams-Franklin (10)Sales (4)Mohegan Sun Arena
8,157
0-1
2September 15SacramentoW 77-70 (OT)McWilliams-Franklin (24)McWilliams-Franklin (16)Sales, Carey, Derevjanik (4)Mohegan Sun Arena
8,444
1-1
3September 18@ SacramentoL 55-66Sales (17)McWilliams-Franklin (13)McWilliams-Franklin, Whalen, Sales (2)ARCO Arena
14,073
1-2
4September 20@ SacramentoL 59-62Jones (21)McWilliams-Franklin (10)Whalen (5)ARCO Arena
15,002
1-3

Depth edit

Pos.Starting 5BenchInactive
CMargo DydekBrooke WyckoffLaura Summerton
PFTaj McWilliams-FranklinAsjha Jones
SFNykesha SalesLe'Coe WillinghamJessica Brungo
SGKatie DouglasJennifer Derevjanik
PGLindsay WhalenJamie Carey

Player stats edit

Awards and honors edit

  • Taj McWilliams-Franklin and Nykesha Sales were named to the WNBA All-Star team.
  • Taj McWilliams-Franklin was named to the All-WNBA Second Team.
  • Katie Douglas was named to the All-Defensive First Team.
  • Taj McWilliams-Franklin was named to the All-Defensive Second Team.
  • Taj McWilliams-Franklin was given the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award.
  • Lindsay Whalen was given the Off Season Community Assist Award.
  • Taj McWilliams-Franklin was named WNBA Player of the Week for the week of June 13, 2005.
  • Lindsay Whalen was named WNBA Player of the Week for the week of June 27, 2005.
  • Katie Douglas was named WNBA Player of the Week for the week of August 15, 2005.

References edit

External links edit