The Sun fell to the Las Vegas Aces 78-71 in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena, dropping the championship series 3-1.
Connecticut has lost in the semifinals or finals of the playoffs in four consecutive seasons.
Chelsea Gray scored 20 points to lead the Las Vegas Aces to their first WNBA title, and the city’s first pro title. Gray went 9 of 13 from the floor, and was named Finals MVP after averaging 18.3 points in the series. The Aces, led by first-year head coach Becky Hammon, closed the show with an 8-0 run to end the game.
The resilient Sun franchise holds the WNBA record for most postseason wins (37) without having secured a championship.
“The sustained success is really special,” Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller said. “But in pro sports, you want banners and we are going to keep grinding and grinding until we can try to hang a banner.”
Alyssa Thomas became the first player to record a triple-double in the WNBA Finals in a Game 3 win on Thursday night and did so again Sunday. She finished with 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
Courtney Williams led the Sun in scoring with 17 points. Jonquel Jones finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, DeWanna Bonner had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Brionna Jones added 11 points off the bench.
“Nobody expected us to be here,” Bonner said. “They expected us to lose to Chicago. They expected us to lose to Dallas. Despite all of that, we made it to the Finals.”
Anthony Rushing is on Twitter @TonyRushingNY
Baseline Sports NY is on Twitter @Baseline_NY
