Former UConn star Dorka Juhász excited to be back in Connecticut as Minnesota Lynx take on Sun

Former UConn star Dorka Juhász is officially back in Connecticut, set to take the court as a WNBA player in the Nutmeg State for the first time when the Minnesota Lynx (12-13) take on the Sun (18-6) for a pair of games this week.

“I’ve got a lot of messages already that people from college times, days, they’re coming to support me, just bringing their families, friends,” Juhász said. “A couple of my teammates are able to make it — most of my teammates from college are back home now, but whoever is at UConn right now, they’re gonna come and watch me play. So I’m super excited.”

Juhász was also thrilled to be reunited with her favorite canine Husky, Jonathan XIV, along with puppy Jonathan XV, for a playdate on Saturday.

The Sun and Lynx will first square off 1 p.m. Sunday on CBS Sports Network and NBC Sports Boston. Then Tuesday’s game will get underway at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

Fellow Husky Napheesa Collier won’t be available for either matchup after spraining her right ankle in the final minutes of Minnesota’s win over the Washington Mystics on Wednesday. The Lynx announced Friday that the 6-foot-1 forward is expected to be out for seven to 10 days, and she was wearing a boot on the ankle on the bench during that night’s game against the New York Liberty.

Collier was having an MVP-caliber season, leading Minnesota in nearly every statistical category with averages of 21.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. Still, the Lynx managed to escape with a 88-83 victory over the Liberty on Friday night.

“I think everybody just kind of took ownership of their place on the court,” Sun assistant coach Briann January said. “They’re like, ‘Okay, yeah, we’re down a man, but I’m gonna step up.’ And you could see that, like everybody had an attack mentality on offense. Everybody was being aggressive on defense. They were really trying to pick up that load that they lost when Napheesa went down.”

Kayla McBride led Minnesota with 26 points along with five rebounds and four assists, while rookie Diamond Miller had 22 points, five rebounds and two assists in the win.

Juhász had her third double-double of the season while shooting 60% or more from the field in Minnesota’s win on Friday, recording 13 points and 10 rebounds. She became the second player in Lynx franchise history to do so as well as just the 12th rookie in WNBA history to hit such a mark.

“It’s just kind of that mindset of just go grabbing rebounds,” Juhász said. “I felt like maybe in the beginning of the season, I kind of just maybe boxed out, wait around for somebody to go grab it. So I definitely took much pride in these past games of especially on the O boards, like get some extra possessions for us. … But going forward that’s just going to be my identity and I have to hold myself accountable.”

The Sun are 2-0 against the Lynx so far this season, with both meetings coming on the road. Connecticut narrowly escaped with a 89-84 victory on June 1 and then won by a much wider 89-68 margin on June 22.

With that loss, Minnesota had a 4-9 record at that point in the season. But Cheryl Reeve’s club has gone 8-4 since then.

“They’re a team that has been fighting all season,” January said. “You can see their toughness in every game that they play, they’ve been in every game that they’ve played, they have a team full of vets that know what it takes. And so that’s the main message with these matchups is  we can’t we can’t take them lightly and they will come in here and punch us if we’re not ready to  play tough.”

Connecticut’s last game was a 88-83 road win over the Dallas Wings on Tuesday. DeWanna Bonner led the Sun with 32 points, eight rebounds and four assists while former UConn star Tiffany Hayes went off for a season-high 28 points along with five assists and four rebounds.

Then on Wednesday, the Sun announced the signing of 6-foot-10 Hungarian center Bernadett Határ to a rest of season contract.

“She’s one of my favorite post players ever, and I’ve played with a lot of good ones,” said January, who played with Határ on Sopron Basket in Hungary. “Her ability to stretch the floor — she can step out and knock down a shot. Her touch around the rim — she finishes extremely well. She has great hands, great timing, can block shots. … She’s a competitor and she’s a good teammate. And so that alongside all the talent she has, yeah, we just gotta get her going.”

Given how small of a country Hungary is, Határ said she and Juhász know each other, but they haven’t seen each other play in person in about seven years. On Sunday, they’ll both represent their country on opposite sides.

“It shows that the Hungarian league is getting better and the Hungarians playing are on the good way to be good players all around the world, so that’s a good sign,” Határ said. “It really means a lot because we can show them back home that you can live your dream and you can reach it, so they just need to keep working super hard and they can have it.”

Juhász is a perfect example of that with the success she’s having right now. Her double-double on Friday marked her second over the last four games. Juhász has averaged 11 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game during that span. And the former Husky will look to continue to her productive rookie campaign in familiar territory on Sunday.

“Considering what she’s went through with her injuries and whatnot, seeing her at this level and blossoming has been just really cool and really just a neat experience to see,” Sun forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa said of Juhász, who she played with for a year at UConn. “She’s flourishing right now, she has her confidence and rhythm, and so I just love seeing that for her.”