Connecticut
WNBA playoffs: Resurgent Las Vegas rout New York to keep title defense alive
Jackie Young scored 24 points and the Las Vegas Aces took control with a 16-point third-quarter run Friday night to stave off elimination with a 95-81 win over the New York Liberty in Game 3 of the WNBA semi-finals.
The Liberty, who lead the series 2-1, will get another shot at closing out the two-time defending champion Aces on Sunday. If Las Vegas wins that, a winner-take-all Game 5 will be Tuesday in New York.
This was the Aces’ 12th consecutive home playoff victory, breaking the WNBA record shared by the Los Angeles Sparks (2001-04) and Sacramento Monarchs (2003-06).
Las Vegas finally beat the Liberty for the first this time year. New York won all three regular-season meetings and the first two games of this series.
In addition, Kelsey Plum scored 20 points, A’ja Wilson had 19 points and 14 rebounds, Tiffany Hayes finished with 11 points and Chelsea Gray totaled 10 points and seven assists. The Aces shot 52.1%, including 40.6% from the three-point line.
Breanna Stewart led the Liberty with 19 points, Jonquel Jones and Nyara Sabally each scored 11 points and Leonie Fiebich had 10 points.
Sabrina Ionescu, who entered the game averaging 24.5 points in the playoffs, was held to four points on 1-of-7 shooting. She was shut out until a minute into the fourth quarter when she made a technical free throw.
A back-and-forth first half quickly became one-sided in the third quarter when the Aces turned a 57-53 lead into a 73-53 advantage. New York went 7:36 between field goals and scored just six points in the period. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello called two timeouts to try to stop the Aces’ momentum.
Las Vegas extended its lead to 78-55 early in the fourth quarter to cap a 21-2 run.
The game looked like it could go either way when the second half began. Both teams went back and forth in the first 30 minutes, which featured 18 lead changes and eight ties.
The Aces played without Kiah Stokes, who suffered a concussion toward the end of Game 3.
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić sat courtside next to teammate Dereck Lively II, coach Jason Kidd and general manager Nico Harrison. The Mavericks’ training camp was in Las Vegas this week. Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, one of the Heisman Trophy front runners, also were in attendance.
Minnesota Lynx 90-81 Connecticut Sun
After struggling in the last game offensively, Napheesa Collier wasn’t going to let it happen again.
The Lynx’s star scored 26 points and Minnesota beat the Connecticut Sun 90-81 on Friday night to take a 2-1 advantage in their best-of-five semi-final matchup.
“Everyone has an off night and I try to contribute in other ways to help the team,” said Collier, who had only nine points on 3-of-14 shooting in Game 2.
She has put in the work all season on both ends of the court and the league’s runner-up for MVP had the confidence to know the poor shooting game was a one-off.
With Connecticut making a run late, Collier also made three straight plays to change the momentum and seal the win.
Minnesota led 81-73 with 3:03 left when she scored, then got a deflection on the other end and capped it off by hitting Alanna Smith for a three-pointer to make it a 13-point game.
“It’s crunch time, I knew I had to be aggressive especially in one-on-one coverage,” Collier said. “Then, you know, just being the same on the other side, we really had to be aggressive. They were playing with desperation at the end.”
Game 4 is Sunday in Connecticut with the Lynx looking to advance to the WNBA finals for the first time since 2017. That season ended in the fourth of Minnesota’s championships during a seven-year stretch. Game 5 would be in Minnesota on Tuesday night if necessary.
Collier had 16 in the first half on Friday night and was aggressive from the start. Minnesota led by seven after one quarter and 48-36 at the half thanks to Collier, who made seven of her 10 shots in the opening 20 minutes.
The Sun tried to rally, cutting the deficit to seven on a three-point play by Marina Mabrey midway through the third quarter. But that’s as close as they got.
“Tough one for us. They do what they wanted to do on the offensive end of the floor,” Connecticut coach Stephanie White said. “We didn’t do a good enough job getting us prepared to play today. We got outplayed, outexecuted and outcoached.”
Brionna Jones, who had just eight points combined in the first two games, led Connecticut with 21.
DeWanna Bonner scored 16 for the Sun to move into second place on the WNBA career postseason scoring list in the third quarter. She passed Candace Parker, who had 1,149 during her illustrious career. Bonner now has 1,159 points, moving ahead of Parker by hitting a free throw with 1:36 left in the quarter. Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi is the leader with 1,455.
All five of the Sun starters scored in double figures, but they got little contribution from the bench. The Sun reserves were outscored 16-4 by their Minnesota counterparts.
The first two games featured a chippiness between the teams, who pride themselves on playing physical defense. They were the two best defensive teams in the regular season – the Sun allowed an average of 73.6 points per game, the Lynx 75.6.
There had been hard fouls on both sides in the two games in Minnesota. There wasn’t much of that at all in Game 3.
“I just thought it was across the board a slugfest,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said of the first two games. “And I’m quite sure they felt the same.”
There’s also been a lot of trash talk on the court especially between Courtney Williams and Mabrey. The pair were teammates in Chicago last year and say that it’s just on-court fun and there’s no bad blood between them.
Connecticut
A Character-Rich Family Home in Connecticut That Bridges Past and Present
When a house has been loved for generations, its walls tend to hold stories. In the case of one family residence in Darien, Connecticut, that sentiment was taken quite literally. On the casement between the living room and kitchen are ticks that denote decades of growth, a quiet record of childhoods unfolding in real time. Several of those measurements belong to the home’s newest steward—the original owners’ daughter—who was ready to put her own mark on the property.
Eager to see what she could make of the 1930s structure, she and her husband tapped British-born designer Becca Casey of Connecticut-based Becca Interiors to breathe new life—and old soul—into the interior. For Casey, being entrusted with that kind of emotional patina was a privilege she didn’t take lightly. “The greatest challenge was ensuring that the new extension had synergy with the original house while bringing together the couple’s different tastes and honoring the home’s history,” Casey says of the 2,400-square-foot space.
That delicate balance shows up everywhere, from tailored silhouettes and clean lines for him to pattern and color for her. Nowhere is that nuance more evident than in the property’s oldest room, a long, beam-lined living space that once sat largely unused. Casey swathed it in an atmospheric mural, transforming it into a multi-zone haven centered on the fireplace, with moments of repose throughout where the family can gather to play a game or enjoy a book.
Around the home, Casey’s eye for nuance is unmistakable. She wields color, pattern, and shape with equal aplomb, expertly marrying form with function in a way that’s both timeless and fresh. A hidden television disappears behind drapery-lined cabinetry, the inner skeleton of an armchair is displayed like a work of art, a vintage dining table reveals a plaque from the husband’s hometown (a serendipitous discovery that made the piece instantly meaningful). In the end, reviving the dwelling wasn’t about reinvention for Casey—it was about the possibility that a new chapter can bring. The result is a space that, according to Casey, feels “quietly refined and effortlessly lived-in”—an elegant meeting point between memory and modern family life.
FAST FACTS:
Designer: Becca Casey, Becca Interiors
Location: Darien, Connecticut
The Space: A 1930s colonial with six bedrooms, across 2,400 square feet.
LIVING ROOM
Bare windows and a transportive wallpaper nod to the pastoral landscape.
The living room is the oldest space in the house, so Casey wanted to honor its bones while streamlining the layout for modern functionality. Custom Dmitriy & Co. sofas—linen on the top, patterned French mattress tufting at the base—typify the union between “his” and “her” tastes.
A traditional English roll armchair was tucked into a corner at the request of the husband, whose wish list included a spot to read. Aiming for a “layered floor plan,” with distinct areas for the family’s many needs, Casey added a game table as a visual anchor with a direct sight line to the main entryway of the home.
DEN
An original stone fireplace anchors the family-ready space.
Drenched in French Gray paint by Farrow & Ball and grounded by the original stone fireplace, the den is carefully choreographed to support togetherness, with a custom sectional and hidden TV.
DINING ROOM
The sun-drenched space looks out to the backyard pond.
Part of the new addition, the serene dining room is flooded with light, thanks to expansive floor to (almost) ceiling windows. Layered textiles keep the antique table—a happy find, originally made in the husband’s hometown—geared toward casual meals.
PRIMARY BEDROOM
Salvaged beams mimic the look of the originals in the living room.
Inspired by Belgian interiors, the elevated placement of the fireplace isn’t just a design flex—it’s an experiential choice that puts the flames right at eye level when lounging in bed. Beside it, two vintage English armchairs stun with their exposed interior, a Becca Interiors signature touch.
PRIMARY BATH
Natural materials were chosen for their ability to patina over time.
In the primary bathroom, wellness comes through atmosphere rather than gadgets. A Drummonds soaking tub is positioned for prime pond views, with a gray-green base (Drop Cloth, Farrow & Ball) that reinforces the room’s soothing palette.
WORKSTATION
Smart features make family management a cinch.
To make the most of a hall nook, Casey crafted a compact desk where the wife, a teacher, can grade papers. Labeled drawers store art supplies, while a floor-to-ceiling cabinet (at side) acts as a hub for deliveries.
About the Designer
Becca Casey is the Principal Director and founder of Becca Interiors. Raised in the countryside of Southwest England, her earliest influences were rooted in history, nature, and the quiet beauty of rural life. These foundations continue to shape her design philosophy today, one that blends heritage with modern sensibility while honoring craftsmanship and the beauty of daily life at home.
Connecticut
Hartford community grieves men killed in police shootings
The Hartford community is grappling with two police shootings that happened within eight days of each other. Both started off as mental health calls about someone in distress.
People came together to remember one of the men killed at a vigil on Wednesday evening.
With hands joined, a prayer for peace and comfort was spoken for the family of Everard Walker. He was having a mental health crisis when a family member called 211 on Feb.19.
Two mental health professionals from the state-operated Capitol Regional Mental Health Center requested Hartford police come with them to Walker’s apartment on Capitol Avenue.
A scuffle ensued, and police said it looked like Walker was going to stab an officer. The brief fight ended with an officer shooting and killing Walker.
The family is planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the city.
“All I will have now is a tombstone and the voicemails he left on my phone that I listen over and over again at night just so I can fall asleep,” Menan Walker, one of Walker’s daughters, said.
City councilman Josh Michtom (WF) is asking whether police could have acted differently.
“To me, the really concerning thing is why the police were there at all, why they went into that apartment in the way that they did, in the numbers that they did,” he said.
The president of Hartford’s police union, James Rutkauski, asked the community to hold their judgment and wait for a full investigation by the Inspector General’s office to be completed.
A different tone was taken in a statement released about another police shooting on Blue Hills Avenue on Feb. 27.
Rutkauski said the union fully supports the officer who fired at 55-year-old Steven Jones, who was holding a knife during a mental health crisis.
In part, the union’s statement says that Jones “deliberately advanced on the officer in a manner that created an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury. This was a 100% justified use of deadly force.”
The Inspector General’s office will determine if the officer was justified following an investigation.
The officer who shot Jones was the fourth to arrive on the scene. Three others tried to get him to drop the knife, even using a taser, before the shooting.
“It just feels like beyond the conduct of any one officer, we have this problem, which is that we send cops for every problem,” Michtom said. “I don’t know how you can de-escalate at the point of a gun.”
Jones died from his injuries on Tuesday.
The union’s statement went on to say that officers should not be society’s default for mental health professionals. The statement said in part, “We ask for renewed commitment from our legislators to remove police from being the vanguard of what should be a mental health professional response.”
The officers involved in both shootings are on administrative leave.
Connecticut
Connecticut Launches New Era for Community Hospital Care – UConn Today
Marked by a ceremonial ribbon cutting and attended by Governor Ned Lamont, state legislators, Waterbury officials, and community leaders, UConn Health celebrated the acquisition of Waterbury Hospital which as of today is now the UConn Health Waterbury Hospital.
“This is a defining moment for healthcare in Connecticut,” said Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, CEO of UConn Health Community Network. “We now have the opportunity to take the award -winning academic quality and service of UConn Health and share it with the wonderful employees, doctors and community of Waterbury.”
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont described the initiative as a forward-looking investment in the future of healthcare access across Connecticut.
“Connecticut is leading with innovation,” said Connecticut Governor Lamont. “The UConn Health Community Network reflects a proactive approach to strengthening community-based care by connecting it directly to the capabilities of our state’s public academic medical center. What begins in Waterbury today, represents a new model designed to expand opportunity, access, and excellence for communities statewide.”
In addition to UConn Health Waterbury Hospital, the Network includes UConn Health Community Network Medical Group and UConn Health Waterbury Health at Home. The model preserves each member’s local identity and will grow thoughtfully over time to improve quality, expand access, and reduce the total cost of care.
“This reflects a bold step forward in how we think about healthcare in Connecticut,” said John Driscoll, Chair of the UConn Health Board of Directors. “Today we celebrate the beginning of a new approach to community-based care. We move forward with clarity of purpose and shared commitment to serve our communities better together.”
Comptroller Sean Scanlon highlighted the significance of the model for the long-term evolution of healthcare delivery in Connecticut.
“This partnership represents thoughtful leadership at a pivotal time for healthcare,” said Connecticut Comptroller Sean Scanlon. “By aligning community hospitals with academic medicine, Connecticut is building a modern framework that positions our healthcare system to meet the needs of patients today and into the future.”
“Hosting this celebration on our campus is deeply meaningful for our staff, physicians and the families we serve,” said Deborah Weymouth, President of UConn Health Waterbury Hospital. “Waterbury’s legacy of care continues, and we are tremendously proud to have a strong partner who is deeply committed to our community and help lead this next chapter for healthcare.”
Welcome UConn Health Waterbury Hospital!
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