Sun hand former coach Curt Miller, Los Angeles Sparks 83-68 loss in return to Connecticut

UNCASVILLE — When Curt Miller walked into Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday, all the emotions and fond memories came flooding back.

Miller, who served as head coach and general manager for the Connecticut Sun for seven seasons, was stepping foot in the building for the first time since leaving to take over as head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks in October 2022.

A “welcome back” sign was posted above the Sparks locker room and he spent time catching up with team president Jenniffer Rizzotti and other people within the organization pregame.

“Obviously, so many good times, just from the players to the staffs that you worked for,” Miller said. “It was just terrific, seven of the best years of my life and  they gave me an opportunity to live a dream of being a professional head coach. And just a little bit overwhelming today coming back. But the fans that were around the concourse and around the casino over the last 12 hours have just been terrific, so really nice to be back.”

The Sun (24-11) handed their former coach a loss in his first trip back, defeating the Sparks, 83-68, in an all-around performance that featured six players in double-figure scoring.

Alyssa Thomas nearly had another triple-double with 17 points,10 rebounds, eight assists and two steals.

Former Huskies Tiffany Hayes contributed 11 points and seven assists while Olivia Nelson-Ododa had 11 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

DeWanna Bonner scored 14 points to move into sixth-place on the WNBA all-time scoring list and also added eight rebounds.

Rebecca Allen added 14 points, four rebounds, and three steals while Natisha Hiedeman had 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

“Golly gee whiz, like that is just a total team effort,” Hiedeman said. “We’ve been saying since day one that it’s going to take everybody to win. Not only just win a single game, but win a championship it’s going to take everyone. So just a really good team contribution tonight and super proud of the team.”

Former UConn star Azurá Stevens finished with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Sparks (15-19).

DiJonai Carrington was out for the Sun with a left foot injury for the second game in a row.

Sunday also marked the return for Jasmine Thomas, who played for Connecticut as a star point guard for 2015 to 2022 before being traded over the offseason. The Sun played video tributes for both Thomas and Miller prior to tip-off.

Miller said he made the decision to leave the Sun for the Sparks because he was at a point where he needed the challenge of rebuilding a team, something that has been a hallmark throughout his career. Los Angeles has had its ups and downs with plenty of injuries and hardship contracts, but entered Sunday’s game on six-game win streak.

The Sparks, currently sitting in eighth place in the WNBA standings, certainly looked the part of a team fighting for a playoff spot in the first quarter. They led 20-19 at the end of the opening frame after the Sun allowed them to shoot 3 of 6 (50%) from deep. Stevens led the way for Los Angeles with eight points and two rebounds through one.

The Sparks continued to build on their lead at the start of the second quarter. Nneka Ogwumike opened things up with back to back buckets and after a layup from Zia Cooke and jumper from Layshia Clarendon, the Sun were suddenly down 28-21 with 7:52 left, forcing head coach Stephanie White to call timeout.

After some fiery words from Alyssa Thomas during the break, Connecticut got back into things.

First DeWanna Bonner scored a layup off an assist from Thomas. Then around 30 seconds later Hiedeman fired up the crowd by knocking down a 3-pointer. And with then Nelson-Ododa toughed her way inside to score a layup a tie things up at 28-28 with 6:12 left.

The Sun outscored the Sparks 22-10 in the second quarter following that initial timeout, building their lead to as many as seven points. The former Husky Nelson-Ododa played big minutes off the bench to help them do so, contributing six points, six rebounds and two blocks.

“We need [Liv] to come in and be productive for us on both ends of the floor,” White said. “And being productive doesn’t always mean a double-double, it means being a presence inside defensively, being a presence offensively, giving us a different look. So that was big for us. I thought Liv did an outstanding job.”

Connecticut entered the halftime break with a 43-38 lead over Los Angeles.

Less than two minutes into the third quarter, Tiffany Hayes found Hiedeman in the corner and the guard knocked down a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired, exciting the home crowd.

Around a minute later, Bonner took a few dribbles and knocked down a jumper from the opposite side to give the Sun a 53-44 lead and force Sparks timeout. Connecticut had opened the second half on a 10-6 run.

Los Angeles managed to tighten things up from there, however, making it a 3-point game late in the quarter.

Ty Harris, who finished with six points and five assists, also stepped up off the bench, making some key plays to help the Sun create some separation. She knocked down a 3-pointer off an assist from Thomas with 2:40 left.

Then the 5-foot-10 guard grabbed an offensive rebound, which eventually led to Thomas drawing a foul on Ogwumike and going to the free-throw line. Thomas forced Ogwumike into picking up her fourth foul shortly after that, which led Miller to sub the star forward out.

Harris splashed home a triple from the corner to end the third quarter as well, allowing the Sun to enter the final frame of play with a 69-57 lead.

“Sometimes it’s not just an always easy position to be coming off the bench like that and just to stay ready and knock down those big shots,” Hiedeman said of Harris. “And then not only that, but five assists to add to that, moving the ball really well, playing with confidence. … It’s just consistency. Just continuing to get ready for the bigger picture.”

Guard Jordin Canada picked up her fourth and firth fouls early in the fourth, leaving the Sparks without a key defensive presence.

Meanwhile, the Sun continued to build their lead. Thomas stole the ball away from former UConn star Evina Westbrook and scored a layup with ease to extend the advantage to 75-60 with 6:04 left and force Miller to call timeout.

Connecticut coasted to victory from there, led in large part by its defense and 17 points off turnovers in the second half.

“We knew that LA has been a fourth quarter team,” White said. “They have been very good in the fourth quarter on their winning streak and we knew that we had to come in and we had to be as disciplined as we could be and as active as we can be on the defensive end of the floor. And our team just responded.”