UNCASVILLE — The Connecticut Sun will take a commercial flight to face the Indiana Fever for their first road game of the season on Monday amid the WNBA’s clunky rollout of a charter travel program for the 2024 season.

The Fever and rookie superstar Caitlin Clark flew to Connecticut on a chartered plane for the season opener at Mohegan Sun Arena on Tuesday. The Minnesota Lynx also took a charter flight for their first game against the Seattle Storm, but all other teams flew commercially for their openers. All 12 teams are expected to operate with full-time charter travel beginning Tuesday — the day after the Sun play in Indianapolis.

The WNBA originally unveiled plans to institute full-time charters this season on May 9, five days before the first regular-season games. It announced that the program would be “phased in beginning with the start of the 2024 regular season.” Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said charter travel would launch “as soon as we can get planes in places,” but there was little further explanation. WNBA players held a town hall with Engelbert on Monday after it became clear that charter flights would begin immediately, but not for all road trips.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Engelbert told players the WNBA was prioritizing charter for trips that are “crossing multiple time zones or flights that usually require a connection.” Bradley International Airport, where the Sun typically travel from, does not offer any nonstop flights to Indianapolis on any airline.

“Yeah that’s disappointing certainly, considering not just our place to fly in and out of, but us to Indiana is almost the worst trip in the world,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “I made that a lot of times on the other end, so I know that from experience, and certainly understand that it’s a tough one, so I’m disappointed.”

A WNBA spokesperson said the league will not comment on case-by-case travel situations.

Chartered air travel — or lack thereof — has long been a spot of contention between the league and its players. All 12 WNBA teams traveled to regular-season games on commercial flights under the current collective bargaining agreement last year, and the New York Liberty were fined $500,000 in 2022 for using charter flights provided by owners Joe and Clara Tsai.

Tensions spiked again in 2023 when Brittney Griner returned to the Phoenix Mercury after a highly publicized 10-month detainment in Russia. Griner was harassed by a right-wing social media personality at the Dallas airport while the Mercury were flying commercially for a game against the Wings last season, but only Griner was allowed to fly charter for the rest of the year. The league introduced charter flights for all playoff games in 2023, but Engelbert said as recently as the WNBA Draft on April 15 that the league was waiting for “the right financial position” to implement a full-time program.

That financial position apparently came sooner than expected with the arrival of one of the most popular rookie classes in WNBA history. Social media erupted with safety concerns for Clark over a viral video of her at the airport for the Indiana Fever’s preseason game, and Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese is the most-followed active player in the league on Instagram with an audience of more than 3.1 million.

After Washington’s Ariel Atkins drained a three-point shot after a turnover from the host Connecticut Sun, the visiting Mystics had a seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

That was the high water mark for the Mystics Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. The Sun scored 17 of the next 20 points in the game including a run of 17 consecutive points to beat the Mystics 84-77 before a crowd of 6,871.

Connecticut veteran DeWanna Bonner scored 14 of her game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Sun won their second straight game and beat the Mystics for the sixth straight contest. DiJonai Carrington had 21 points and three assists for the Sun while Alyssa Thomas had 13 points, a team-high 11 rebounds and six assists.

Washington (0-2) hit eight of their first 17 shots from three-point range to stay in the game but sank just one of 5 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. The Sun had 14 steals in the game and six in the pivotal fourth quarter.

“I had to do something,” Bonner admitted. “For three quarters, I wasn’t my best. I felt I had to turn it on or sit down. I just got aggressive on defense.”

In the fourth quarter, Bonner was 6-of-9 from the floor with four rebounds and four steals.

“Great players understand the moment,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “She had struggled shooting the basketball but she found ways in the fourth quarter to get to the rim. Whether it was attacking, cutting , getting an easy one or getting to the free throw line. It is the DNA of some players to understand the moment.”

Washington led 59-52 early in the fourth quarter after Atkins completed a three-point play. Bonner scored in the lane to cut the lead to five and then stole the ball and drove to the basket to reduce the lead to three, 59-56.

A three-point play from Shakira Austin extended the Mystic lead to six but Carrington scored in the lane, was fouled and completed the three-point play to cut the lead to three, 62-59 with 8:02 remaining in the game.

The Sun scored the next 12 points of the game to take a 62-59 lead. Bonner had six of the ten points on drives to the basket. Two baskets came off fabulous passes from Thomas and the third basket came after another steal and a drive to the basket.

Brionna Jones also had two baskets in the low post for Connecticut. She had seven points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes of work as she continues to come back from last year’s achilles tendon injury.

The Sun led by seven, 75-68 with 2:54 remaining but the Mystics didn’t go quietly.

After cutting the Connecticut lead to two with 1:50 remaining, it was Ty Harris with a three-point in the lane with 1:36 left to extend the lead to five points.

Washington cut the lead to three with 16.7 seconds but Bonner hit two free throws with 13.9 seconds and then Harris stole the ball and drove in for a layup with a second left to ice the contest.

Karlie Samuelson had a career-high 18 points and four three-point goals. Julie Vanloo came off the bench to score 12 points for the Mystics.

“It wasn’t a pretty game,” White admitted. “For three quarters, we were pretty average. In the fourth quarter, we gutted it out and found a way to win. That is a tribute to our leaders and the toughness that (Thomas), (Bonner) and Bri Jones bring. Finding ways to get a win in this league is big. I am proud of them for finding a way.”

Connecticut 84, Washington 77
At Uncasville, Conn.
Washington (77) K. Samuelson 6-8 2-2 18, Austin 4-8 2-3 10, Dolson 3-7 0-0 9, Atkins 3-12 2-2 8, Sykes 0-1 2-2 2, Hines-Allen 2-4 2-2 7, Edwards 3-5 0-0 7, Vanloo 5-9 1-1 6, Walker-Kimbrough 5-9 1-1 12, Richards 2-3 1-2 5, Engstler 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-58 12-14 77
Connecticut (84) Bonner 9-19 4-4 22, Thomas 3-7 7-7 13, Jones 3-5 1-2 7, Carrington 7-18 7-7 21, Harris 2-7 1-1 5, Nelson-Ododa 3-3 2-3 8, Banham 0-4 0-0 0, Jefferson 2- 2-2 8, Mitchell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-68 24-26 84
Washington (0-2)        20  16  20  21  — 77
Connecticut (2-0)       18  18  16  32  — 84
Three-point goals: Washington 9-22 (Samuelson 4-5, Dolson 3-5, Atkins 0-5, Sykes 0-2, Hines-Allen 1-2, Vanloo 1-4, Richards 0-1); Connecticut 2-20 (Bonner 0-6, Carrington 0-4, Harris 0-2, Banham 0-3, Jefferson 2-4, Mitchell 0-1)

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