Sun bid farewell to Connecticut against Tempo

There may not be a dry eye in the crowd on Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., when the Connecticut Sun play their farewell game in their season finale against the Toronto Tempo.

The Connecticut franchise will relocate to Houston and rebrand as the Comets for the 2027 season.

"Our responsibility is to fight until the very end," said Sun coach Rachid Meziane. "We have this chance to play our last game in our arena in front of our fanbase."

"The goal is the same. Be proud of ourselves, fight for 40 minutes. Regardless of outcome, we know this last game is our last chance to wear a Sun jersey together and finish the season with our head up high."

While Connecticut has faced hard times in recent years, the team largely has been successful since moving from Orlando, Fla., to Uncasville ahead of the 2003 season. The Sun posted 15 winning seasons and reached the WNBA Finals four times (2004, 2005, 2019, 2022).

Fast-forwarding to the present, Connecticut (10-33) and Toronto (11-32) enter this season finale on lengthy losing streaks. The Sun have lost six in a row, while the Tempo have dropped seven straight games and 19 of their last 20.

Diamond Miller scored 19 points and Leila Lacan and Raegan Beers added 11 apiece in Connecticut's 79-69 setback to the Washington Mystics on Tuesday.

As for Toronto, its losing ways continued Tuesday despite Isabelle Harrison's 21 points and 13 rebounds in a 97-85 setback to the Chicago Sky.

Harrison was quick to shift her attention to her team's next game -- which, of course, is Connecticut's last.

"Connecticut was always a trip because I knew the fans really were going to show up because they love their Sun over there," Harrison said. "But I'm excited for the franchise to move to Houston and get the Comets back into the league."

Toronto emerged victorious over Connecticut in a pair of offensive slugfests in June.

Brittney Sykes erupted for 38 points in the Tempo's 106-102 overtime win on June 10 at home. Nine days later, Marina Mabrey sank nine 3-pointers to finish with 37 points in a 101-97 triumph.