The new-look Connecticut Sun open the WNBA season on Sunday when they host the Washington Mystics at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., at 1 p.m. (NBCSB).

Six players, including the entire starting five, are gone from last year’s squad that went 28-12 and lost to the Minnesota Lynx in five games in the WNBA semifinals. DeWanna Bonner. DiJonai Carrington, Tyasha Harris, Brionna Jones, Tiffany Mitchell, and Alyssa Thomas combined for more than 80 percent of the team’s scoring.

Thomas, Carrington, and Harris were moved as part of a four-team trade, with Thomas headed to Phoenix, and Carrington and Harris to Dallas. Bonner signed a one-year deal with Indiana, and Jones a one-year deal with Atlanta.

Among the new faces hoping to lead the Sun back to the postseason for the ninth straight season are veterans Tina Charles, Lindsay Allen, and Jacy Sheldon, as well as 2025 first-round picks Aneesah Morrow (LSU) and Saniya Rivers (NC State). Leïla Lacan, the 2024 first-round pick from France, is also joining the team this year.

It’s a homecoming for Charles, 36, who spent the first four years of her career with the Sun after they drafted her No. 1 overall out of UConn in 2010. The eight-time All-Star was named Rookie of the Year, then went on to win MVP honors in 2012.

“I’m really excited to be here,” said Charles. “I have a lot of history here from my collegiate time to my first four years professionally.

“I’m very thankful toward the end of my career to be here, to be playing for this franchise as they’re entering a new chapter.”

Among the holdovers are Marina Mabrey and Olivia Nelson-Ododa. Mabrey, who averaged 14.9 points last season, had requested a trade in the offseason, but the Sun are hoping the acquisitions will keep the seventh-year guard out of Notre Dame content. She had nothing but praise for the rookies.

“They’ve been like sponges,” said Mabrey. “They’ve brought energy that is irreplaceable. They come in, they’re smiling, they’re working hard. They want to learn. They bring exactly what they do best to the table also, so it’s hard to not want that around you, it’s hard to not want that on the court, just because they’re new.

“It’s refreshing, and although they’re going to make mistakes, it’s easy to work through that when you have the mentality that they have.”

Coach Stephanie White, who went 55-25 and led the team to the semifinals in her two seasons, also departed for Indiana to coach the Fever, where she wlll be reunited with Bonner.

The Sun hired Rachid Meziane to take over for White. He led Belgium to a fourth-place finish in the 2024 Olympics, and also served as the coach of the French women’s club Villeneuve D’Asco since 2019. He led the team to a Ligue Feminine de Basketball championship and a EuroLeague runner-up finish during the 2023-24 season.

Follow Andrew Mahoney @GlobeMahoney.

It can be especially daunting for those considering buying their first home and to see the costs surging.

Karess Cannon is ready to stop renting and is searching for her first home somewhere in central Connecticut.

“I realize there’s no perfect time, but as rents keep going up, it just makes sense to actually be putting money into something that I own,” Cannon said.

For many buyers, it’s becoming harder to find and afford a starter home – those in the bottom quarter of sales.

Starter prices here in Connecticut have skyrocketed about 50% from 2019 to 2024, according to Realtor.com.

The average starter home going from about $263,000 to then hitting $390,000.

Cannon has been saving and while she hasn’t been priced out of the current market yet, it still has its surprises.

 “Like the listings, the reality of what’s out there right now, how does that contrast with your expectations going into the process?” NBC Connecticut’s Matt Austin asked.

“Yeah, I mean, I think it’s just kind of knowing that X amount of dollars isn’t going to get you X amount house. Like that’s been the biggest management and being like, what things do I really need versus wants,” Cannon said.

When it comes to the costs, experts recommend buyers keep their mortgage payments to less than 30% of their income.

That means to afford the average starter home in the state, someone needs an income of about $93,000.

That’s gone up a lot recently amid a rise in prices and mortgage rates.

“You put those two things together and affordability starts to feel less and less attainable,” said Rachael Cisz, of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England Properties.

Cisz says with lower supply these past few years starter homes are in high demand.

It’s all adding up and last year only 24% of successful homebuyers were first-timers – the lowest on record.

Cisz tries to prepare her clients for searching in this market.

“I think it is all about setting the expectations both for what the process is going to look like and also kind of showing them firsthand. Here’s what your money can buy you, you know, in different towns, different types of properties,” Cisz said. “I’m always stressing to them, ‘you know, you might want this in a house, but you need to remember this isn’t your forever home. It’s just getting you into the market.’”

Cisz also reminds hopeful homeowners there is help for first-time buyers, including state assistance with a down payment.

One person was taken to the hospital to be treated for burns after a fire in West Hartford on Thursday night.

Firefighters responded to a single-family house on Fennbrook Road just after 10:30 p.m. and found heavy smoke and fire visible on the back side of the residence.

No one was in the home, but one adult was burned while trying to put out the fire, according to the fire department.

A West Hartford firefighter/paramedic treated the victim at the scene and then the person was taken to a local hospital.

The person’s condition is not known, but it does not appear to be life-threatening, according to the fire department.

The West Hartford fire marshal’s office is investigating the origin and cause of the fire.

Crews were at the house until 10:57 p.m.

Fire officials said they do not believe the house will be able to be occupied because of the extent of the fire, smoke and water damage.

The Red Cross is assisting residents.

No other injuries are reported.