2015 Connecticut Sun season

The 2015 WNBA season was the seventeenth season for the Connecticut Sun franchise of the Women's National Basketball Association.^[1] The Sun started the season with a loss against the Washington Mystics 73–68 on June 5. After the opening night loss, the Sun went on a seven game winning streak. They defeated Atlanta and Los Angeles twice over this stretch and the run included four away wins. Their largest win of the stretch was a twenty-one point victory in Seattle. They lost to Indiana to finish the month 7–2. Their losing streak extended into June and lasted a total of six games. They lost to Chicago twice to open July and their July 12 96–76 loss was their largest of the streak. The streak ended on July 22 with a 78–77 overtime victory in Minnesota. They lost their next game against Indiana but defeated Seattle by one point to finish the month 2–6. They lost their opening game of August against Indiana, but won three of their next four games. The Sun defeated San Antonio, split a back-to-back with Washington and defeated Tulsa. The team then went on a seven-game losing streak where they lost to Atlanta three times, New York twice, Tulsa, and Phoenix. They ended the streak on August 30, with a 72–68 defeat of Chicago. The Sun finished August 4–9. They went 2–2 in September, losing to Indiana and New York while defeating San Antonio and Chicago in the final game of the season. Their final record of 15–19 saw them finish tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference. They did not qualify for the playoffs. After the season, head coach Anne Donovan resigned.^[2]

2015 Connecticut Sun season
Coach	Anne Donovan
Arena	Mohegan Sun Arena
Attendance	5,557 per game
Results
Record	15–19 (.441)
Place	T-5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Team Leaders
Points	Kelsey Bone – 15.4 ppg
Rebounds	Kelsey Bone – 6.3 rpg
Assists	Jasmine Thomas – 3.9 apg
← 2014 season 2016 season →

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2015 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	4	Elizabeth Williams	United States	Duke
2	19	Brittany Hrynko		DePaul

Trades/Roster Changes

Date	Trade
January 28	The Sun acquired Renee Montgomery and the 3rd and 15th picks in the 2015 WNBA Draft in exchange for Camille Little and Shekinna Stricklen.[3]
February 26	Signed Kayla Pedersen[4]
April 16	The Sun acquired Jasmine Thomas in exchange for the draft rights to Brittany Hrynko.[5]
May 13	The Sun acquired the 23rd pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft in exchange for Asjha Jones.[6]

Roster

Source:^[7][8]

2015 Connecticut Sun roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 20 Bentley, Alex  5' 7" (1.7m) 152 lb (69kg) 1990-10-27 Penn State 2 C 3 Bone, Kelsey 6' 4" (1.93m) 220 lb (100kg) 1991-12-31 Texas A&M 2 G 34 Faris, Kelly 5' 11" (1.8m) 154 lb (70kg) 1991-12-31 Connecticut 2 G 12 Gray, Chelsea 5' 11" (1.8m) 170 lb (77kg) 1992-10-08 Duke R F/C 54 Greene, Nikki 6' 4" (1.93m) 192 lb (87kg) 1990-09-06 Penn State 1 F 21 Lacy, Jennifer 6' 3" (1.91m) 175 lb (79kg) 1983-03-21 Pepperdine 9 F 2 Little, Camille 6' 2" (1.88m) 180 lb (82kg) 1985-01-18 North Carolina 8 F/C 13 Ogwumike, Chiney  6' 2" (1.88m) 193 lb (88kg) 1992-03-22 Stanford 1 F 7 Pedersen, Kayla 6' 4" (1.93m) 190 lb (86kg) 1989-04-14 Stanford 4 F 40 Stricklen, Shekinna 6' 2" (1.88m) 230 lb (104kg) 1990-07-30 Tennessee 3 F 25 Thomas, Alyssa 6' 2" (1.88m) 203 lb (92kg) 1992-04-12 Maryland 1 G 5 Thomas, Jasmine 5' 9" (1.75m) 143 lb (65kg) 1989-09-30 Duke 4 F/C 1 Williams, Elizabeth 6' 3" (1.91m) 200 lb (91kg) 1993-06-23 Duke R	Head coach Anne Donovan (Old Dominion) Assistant coaches Jennifer Gillom (Mississippi) Steven Key (Boston University) Athletic trainer Jeremy Norman (Keene State) Strength and conditioning coach Lisa White Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Game Log

Preseason

2015 pre-season game log
May: 2–1 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 23 vs. Indiana W 76–68 Chelsea Gray (13) Alyssa Thomas (7) Alyssa Thomas (7) KFC Yum! Center 6,437 1–0 2 May 27 China W 86–65 Bentley, A. Thomas (18) Kelsey Bone (7) Alex Bentley (6) Mohegan Sun Arena 3,947 2–0 3 May 28 Los Angeles L 57–64 Alex Bentley (22) Alyssa Thomas (6) Jasmine Thomas (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 4,006 2–1
2015 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2015 game log Total: 15–19 (Home: 8–9; Road: 7–10)
June: 7–2 (Home: 3–2; Road: 4–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 June 5 Washington L 68–73 Alex Bentley (17) Alyssa Thomas (7) Jasmine Thomas (4) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,846 0–1 2 June 7 @ Atlanta W 75–70 Alex Bentley (17) Jasmine Thomas (6) Kelsey Bone (5) Philips Arena 8,358 1–1 3 June 11 Chicago W 67–65 Alex Bentley (16) Kelsey Bone (12) Jasmine Thomas (4) Mohegan Sun Arena 4,523 2–1 4 June 14 Atlanta W 82–64 Bone, Stricklen (18) Camille Little (7) Jasmine Thomas (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,520 3–1 5 June 16 @ Seattle W 79–58 Chelsea Gray (16) Pedersen, A. Thomas (6) Pedersen, J. Thomas (3) KeyArena 4,941 4–1 6 June 19 @ Phoenix W 90–78 Kelsey Bone (27) Kelsey Bone (14) Chelsea Gray (4) US Airways Center 8,907 5–1 7 June 21 @ Los Angeles W 76–68 Alex Bentley (21) Alyssa Thomas (8) Gray, J. Thomas (3) Staples Center 6,875 6–1 8 June 26 Los Angeles W 80–76 Alex Bentley (18) Alyssa Thomas (7) Camille Little (3) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,542 7–1 9 June 30 Indiana L 84–92 Kelsey Bone (21) A. Thomas, Little (5) Alex Bentley (6) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,083 7–2
July: 2–6 (Home: 1–3; Road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 10 July 2 Chicago L 74–77 Alex Bentley (25) Alyssa Thomas (9) Bentley, Little, Pedersen, J. Thomas (3) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,607 7–3 11 July 12 @ Chicago L 76–96 Kelsey Bone (18) Bone, Gray, J. Thomas, Williams (3) Chelsea Gray (5) Allstate Arena 5,051 7–4 12 July 14 Minnesota L 79–85 Alex Bentley (22) Kelsey Bone (8) Chelsea Gray (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,246 7–5 13 July 16 @ New York L 57–64 Alex Bentley (15) Bone, Little (8) Gray, J. Thomas (4) Madison Square Garden 8,813 7–6 14 July 19 @ Washington L 82–89 Kelsey Bone (24) Alyssa Thomas (8) Chelsea Gray (5) Capital One Arena 6,964 7–7 15 July 22 @ Minnesota W 78–77 (OT) Shekinna Stricklen (15) Kelsey Bone (10) Jasmine Thomas (4) Target Center 17,414 8–7 16 July 28 Indiana L 73–75 Kelsey Bone (14) Shekinna Stricklen (5) Jasmine Thomas (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 4,868 8–8 17 July 31 Seattle W 67–66 Shekinna Stricklen (15) Elizabeth Williams (6) Chelsea Gray (3) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,157 9–8
August: 4–9 (Home: 3–4; Road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 18 August 2 @ Indiana L 70–83 Kelsey Bone (20) Elizabeth Williams (6) Jasmine Thomas (4) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 6,601 9–9 19 August 4 San Antonio W 82–51 Kelsey Bone (17) Kelsey Bone (10) Chelsea Gray (7) Mohegan Sun Arena 4,490 10–9 20 August 7 Washington W 86–72 Alex Bentley (31) Kelsey Bone (9) Jasmine Thomas (8) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,663 11–9 21 August 9 @ Washington L 73–84 Kelsey Bone (19) Alyssa Thomas (11) Kayla Pedersen (4) Capital One Arena 7,400 11–10 22 August 12 Tulsa W 80–74 Alex Bentley (25) Kelsey Bone (10) Jasmine Thomas (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 4,682 12–10 23 August 14 New York L 78–90 Alex Bentley (19) Kelsey Bone (7) Bentley, J. Thomas (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,827 12–11 24 August 16 @ Atlanta L 77–90 Jennifer Lacy (21) Camille Little (10) Jasmine Thomas (4) Philips Arena 5,661 12–12 25 August 21 @ Tulsa L 76–84 Jennifer Lacy (20) Jasmine Thomas (8) Jasmine Thomas (5) BOK Center 4,225 12–13 26 August 23 Atlanta L 92–102 Jennifer Lacy (25) Jennifer Lacy (7) Bone, J. Thomas (4) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,319 12–14 27 August 25 @ Atlanta L 57–71 Shekinna Stricklen (14) Chelsea Gray (6) Chelsea Gray (4) Philips Arena 5,573 12–15 28 August 27 Phoenix L 80–81 Jasmine Thomas (21) Kelsey Bone (7) Camille Little (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,171 12–16 29 August 29 New York L 66–80 Kelsey Bone (22) Kelsey Bone (7) Jasmine Thomas (4) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,874 12–17 30 August 30 @ Chicago W 72–68 Kelsey Bone (25) Chelsea Gray (9) Chelsea Gray (6) Allstate Arena 5,969 13–17
September: 2–2 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 31 September 1 @ Indiana L 51–81 Kelsey Bone (17) Jasmine Thomas (5) Bone, Faris, Gray (3) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 5,768 13–18 32 September 4 @ San Antonio W 73–72 Kelsey Bone (17) Kelsey Bone (8) Jasmine Thomas (8) Freeman Coliseum 4,633 14–18 33 September 9 @ New York L 64–74 Kelsey Bone (19) Kelsey Bone (10) Jasmine Thomas (4) Madison Square Garden 7,898 14–19 34 September 13 Chicago W 86–75 Kelsey Bone (31) Alyssa Thomas (9) Jasmine Thomas (7) Mohegan Sun Arena 8,049 15–19
2015 season schedule

Standings

Eastern Conference v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
x - New York Liberty	23	11	.676	–	12–5	11–6	13–9
x - Chicago Sky	21	13	.618	2	13–4	8–9	14–8
x - Indiana Fever	20	14	.588	3	11–6	9–8	13–9
x - Washington Mystics	18	16	.529	5	11–6	7–10	10–12
e - Atlanta Dream	15	19	.441	8	9–8	6–11	10–12
e - Connecticut Sun	15	19	.441	8	8–9	7–10	6–16

Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	TO	Turnovers per game
PF	Fouls per game		Team leader		League leader

Regular season

Source:^[7]

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Alex Bentley	25	25	30.0	40.9%	33.6%	83.0%	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.2	14.7
Kelsey Bone	34	33	28.3	50.8%	0.0%	62.2%	6.1	1.9	0.8	0.6	15.0
Camille Little	34	34	27.0	40.6%	34.5%	87.9%	3.6	1.6	1.2	0.2	8.2
Jasmine Thomas	34	34	26.7	32.8%	29.8%	78.3%	3.7	3.9	1.2	0.4	8.2
Alyssa Thomas	24	23	26.0	41.1%	—	69.2%	5.3	1.4	1.2	0.2	8.8
Shekinna Stricklen	34	0	17.6	41.1%	35.9%	78.6%	1.9	0.6	0.6	0.2	7.7
Jennifer Lacy	19	11	16.7	44.4%	35.4%	75.7%	2.4	0.4	0.4	0.5	7.0
Chelsea Gray	34	0	16.0	42.4%	34.8%	81.6%	2.3	2.7	0.6	0.1	6.9
Kayla Pedersen	33	1	15.5	43.3%	—	82.6%	2.6	1.2	0.7	0.2	2.9
Kelly Faris	32	9	14.5	38.1%	31.0%	77.8%	1.7	1.0	0.4	0.1	2.9
Elizabeth Williams	21	0	11.7	52.8%	—	56.0%	3.2	0.4	0.3	0.9	3.3
Nikki Greene	12	0	8.4	40.0%	—	85.7%	2.0	0.2	0.3	0.4	1.2
Inga Orekhova	4	0	2.8	0.0%	0.0%	—	0.3	—	—	—	—

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Kelsey Bone	WNBA Most Improved Player	October 1, 2015	[9]