Alyssa Thomas shines in her emotional return to Connecticut

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Alyssa Thomas was the face of the Connecticut Sun for over a decade, beloved by her teammates and the fans.

Thomas returned to the Mohegan Sun Arena on Wednesday for the first time as a visitor after being traded to the Phoenix Mercury in the offseason.

“It feels good — different to be on the other side, but a lot of good memories here,” Thomas said during warmups before the game.

“11 years here, I started here. A lot of wins, a lot of friendships, (it) means a lot but… I knew it was my time to move on and now it’s my next step.”

Thomas caught up with former teammate Marina Mabrey before the game among other ‘familiar faces’.

Thomas was greeted warmly by the Connecticut fans before the tip-off after the team played a touching tribute video on her time with the Sun.

Try as she might, the five-time All-Star could not hold back her tears after seeing the Sun’s tribute video and witnessing the outpour of love and support from the Sun crowd.

“Definitely emotional,” Thomas said after the game. “I gave this organization everything I had and the fan base was always behind me, supporting, whether we’re winning or losing.

“I’m just super grateful for them to definitely came out and show their support.”

The Mercury jumped out to a 10-0 lead early on, holding the Sun scoreless through the first four minutes of the game. The Sun trailed by 17 at the end of the first, but late in the second quarter they managed to climb back, trimming the lead to five.

But the Mercury closed the quarter on a 9-2 run to regain control, heading into halftime with a 10-point advantage.

Phoenix maintained its double-digit lead for most of the third. But a three from Marina Mabrey with just over two minutes capped an 8-0 run to get back within eight.

Once again, the Mercury refused to buckle to Connecticut’s pressure. Satou Sabally scored a well-contested shot from the post out of the timeout to restore Phoenix’s double-digit lead entering the fourth.

Connecticut remained within striking distance throughout the final quarter, but the Sun could not put together a run to close the gap and lost, 83-75.

Thomas finished with a typical stat line for herself with 14 points, a game-high 11 assists and eight rebounds in under 31 minutes.

“(Thomas is) the ultimate winner,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said. “She cares about one thing and that’s winning.

“She’s super professional — we’re going to be good in Phoenix as long as she’s (here), that’s how good she is… it’s our job to put good players around her, competitive players, shot makers. But she just competes at such a high level and plays with such a force, I really enjoy getting the opportunity to coach her.”

Aneesah Morrow breaks out in the second half, posts career-high

Aneesah Morrow had her best game in a Sun uniform, finishing with a game-high 16 points off the bench in just under 23 minutes played, grabbing nine rebounds and snatching three steals as well.

All of her points came in the second half, an impressive showing in itself of her scoring ability — only to have the task of guarding Thomas on the other side of the court.

“(Thomas is) a great all-around player, she’s a great passer, makes sure her teammates get open but also can rebound and create for (herself),” Morrow said. “Just going out there and competing. I knew it was going to be a tough assignment, but not backing down from the challenge.

“Just continue to work, knowing that I can compete and be able to sit down and defend, be able to stay in front of my (opponent) any night and that’s my goal — I want to be able to be defensive stopper.”

The No. 7 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft had a slow start to the season, missing the first two games with a knee injury. She did not participate in Connecticut’s last two games against Chicago and Indiana prior to her first double-digit scoring performance on Wednesday.

But as challenging as this period has been on her, the 22-year-old rookie is doing her best to keep everything in perspective.

“(I’m) giving myself grace, just staying patient and trusting my journey, my process and embracing it,” Morrow said. “Continue to work, continue to be that all-around teammate… never get complacent throughout the process, just stay as focused as I can to develop everyday.”

Olivia Nelson-Ododa had 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Sun, her second double-double of the season. Jacy Sheldon had 13 points for Connecticut as well, while Marina Mabrey had a team-high seven assists but struggled from the field, scoring just eight points on 2-11 from the field.