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    2004 Connecticut Sun season

    From Wikipedia - Reading time: 7 min
    2004 Connecticut Sun season
    CoachMike Thibault
    ArenaMohegan Sun Arena
    Attendance6,707 per game
    Results
    Record18–16 (.529)
    Place1st (Eastern)
    Playoff finishLost in WNBA Finals
    Team Leaders
    PointsNykesha Sales (15.2)
    ReboundsTaj McW.-Franklin (7.2)
    AssistsLindsay Whalen (4.8)
    ← 2003 season
    2005 season →

    The 2004 WNBA season was their sixth season and their second in Connecticut. The Sun attempted to return to the postseason for the second consecutive season and were successful.

    Offseason[edit]

    Dispersal Draft[edit]

    Based on the Sun's 2003 record, they would pick 8th in the Cleveland Rockers dispersal draft. However, the Sun traded the pick to the Houston Comets.

    WNBA Draft[edit]

    Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
    1 4 Lindsay Whalen  United States Minnesota
    2 16 Jessica Brungo  United States Penn State
    2 24 Ugo Oha  United States George Washington University
    3 29 Candace Futrell  United States Duquesne

    [1]

    Transactions[edit]

    • May 19: The Sun waived Courtney Colman.
    • May 18: The Sun waived Anna Zimerle, Ugo Oha, and Anastasia Kostaki.
    • May 12: The Sun waived Courtney Mix and Katie MacFarlane.
    • May 10: The Sun waived Brina Chaney and Brianne Stepherson.
    • May 4: The Sun waived Texlin Quinney, Jamila Wideman, and Isabel Stubbs.
    • April 26: The Sun signed Brina Chaney, Katie MacFarlane, Le'Coe Willingham, Jennifer Derevjanik, Courtney Mix, and Texlin Quinney.
    • April 20: The Sun waived Adrienne Johnson.
    • April 19: The Sun waived Jamila Wideman.
    • April 16: The Sun signed Isabel Stubbs.
    • April 9: The Sun signed Wendy Palmer-Daniel, Brianne Stepherson, Anna Zimerle, and Anastasia Kostaki.
    • March 25: The Sun acquired Asjha Jones from the Washington Mystics. The Washington Mystics acquired Tamicha Jackson from the Phoenix Mercury. The Phoenix Mercury acquired the 8th pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft from the Sun.
    • January 28: The Sun traded Shannon Johnson and their 21st and 34th picks in the 2004 WNBA Draft to the Silver Stars in exchange for San Antonio's 4th, 16th, 29th picks in the 2004 WNBA Draft.
    • January 5: The Sun traded the eighth pick in the 2004 WNBA Dispersal Draft to the Houston Comets in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2004 collegiate draft.

    [2]

    Roster[edit]

    Connecticut Sun roster
    Players Coaches
    Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From
    G 24 United States Black, Debbie 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) 124 lb (56 kg) Saint Joseph's
    F 22 United States Brungo, Jessica 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Penn State
    G 34 United States Derevjanik, Jennifer 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 140 lb (64 kg) George Mason
    G/F 32 United States Douglas, Katie 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Purdue
    G 12 United States Futrell, Candace 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 154 lb (70 kg) Duquesne
    F 15 United States Jones, Asjha 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Connecticut
    F/C 11 United States McWilliams-Franklin, Taj (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) St. Edward's College
    F 3 United States Palmer-Daniel, Wendy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Virginia
    G/F 42 United States Sales, Nykesha (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Connecticut
    G 13 United States Whalen, Lindsay 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Minnesota
    F 43 United States Willingham, Le'Coe 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Auburn
    F 21 United States Wyckoff, Brooke Injured 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Florida State
    Head coach
    • United States Mike Thibault (St. Martin's University)
    Assistant coaches
    • United States Scott Hawk (Nebraska-Omaha)
    • United States Bernadette Mattox (Georgia)
    Athletic trainer
    • United States Jen Brodeur
    Strength and conditioning coach
    • United States Lisa Ciaravella (Lynn University)
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (FA) Free agent
    • (IN) Inactive
    • (S) Suspended
    • Injured Injured

    Season standings[edit]

    Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
    Connecticut Sun x 18 16 .529 – 10–7 8–9 14–6
    New York Liberty x 18 16 .529 – 11–6 7–10 10–10
    Detroit Shock x 17 17 .500 1.0 8–9 9–8 11–9
    Washington Mystics x 17 17 .500 1.0 11–6 6–11 9–11
    Charlotte Sting o 16 18 .471 2.0 10–7 6–11 8–12
    Indiana Fever o 15 19 .441 3.0 10–7 5–12 8–12

    Schedule[edit]

    Preseason[edit]

    2004 Game Log: Preseason
    Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
    1 May 8 Chinese National Team L 85-87 Derevjanik (13) Coleman (9) () Mohegan Sun Arena 0-1
    2 May 11 @ Houston L 71-84 Douglas, Sales (13) Coleman (6) () Toyota Center 0-2
    3 May 13 Los Angeles L 51-77 Sales (12) McWilliams-Franklin (7) () Mohegan Sun Arena 0-3

    Regular season[edit]

    2004 Game Log: Regular Season
    May
    Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
    1 May 22 Phoenix L 58-65 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 0-1
    2 May 25 Houston L 57-68 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 0-2
    3 May 27 Los Angeles W 82-73 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 1-2
    June
    Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
    4 June 3 Charlotte W 71-62 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 2-2
    5 June 4 @ Washington W 72-63 () () () MCI Center 3-2
    6 June 6 Detroit L 73-74 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 3-3
    7 June 9 @ Phoenix L 59-75 () () () America West Arena 3-4
    8 June 11 @ Seattle L 63-68 () () () KeyArena 3-5
    9 June 12 @ Sacramento W 83-76 () () () ARCO Arena 4-5
    10 June 14 @ Los Angeles L 74-76 (OT) () () () Staples Center 4-6
    11 June 18 Charlotte L 58-63 (OT) () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 4-7
    12 June 20 Washington W 75-65 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 5-7
    13 June 22 @ Indiana W 63-58 () () () Conseco Fieldhouse 6-7
    14 June 25 Detroit W 71-67 (OT) () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 7-7
    15 June 27 @ Detroit W 74-72 () () () Palace of Auburn Hills 8-7
    16 June 30 Washington W 78-69 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 9-7
    July
    Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
    17 July 6 Indiana W 79-67 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 10-7
    18 July 9 Sacramento L 70-85 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 10-8
    19 July 11 @ Indiana W 65-61 () () () Conseco Fieldhouse 11-8
    20 July 14 @ Minnesota L 63-66 () () () Target Center 11-9
    21 July 15 @ San Antonio L 67-78 () () () SBC Center 11-10
    22 July 17 @ Houston L 56-72 () () () Toyota Center 11-11
    23 July 21 @ Detroit W 78-68 () () () Palace of Auburn Hills 12-11
    24 July 22 Minnesota L 52-68 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 12-12
    25 July 24 San Antonio W 69-55 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 13-12
    26 July 30 @ Washington L 68-69 () () () MCI Center 13-13
    27 July 31 @ New York L 66-80 () () () Madison Square Garden 13-14
    September
    Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
    Summer Olympic break
    28 September 1 @ Charlotte L 55-62 () () () Charlotte Coliseum 13-15
    29 September 3 New York W 61-43 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 14-15
    30 September 10 @ New York W 77-66 () () () Madison Square Garden 15-15
    31 September 12 Seattle W 71-64 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 16-15
    32 September 15 @ Charlotte W 81-67 () () () Charlotte Coliseum 17-15
    33 September 17 New York L 66-69 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 17-16
    34 September 19 Indiana W 80-60 () () () Mohegan Sun Arena 18-16

    Playoffs[edit]

    See also: 2004 WNBA Finals

    In the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Sun had to face the Washington Mystics. Since the Sun had the better record, the series would be played with game 1 at Washington, game 2 at Connecticut, and game 3 (if needed) at Connecticut. The Sun lost the first game, but won the next two to advance to the next round. In the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Sun had to face the New York Liberty. The Sun and the Liberty had identical records and each team had won two of the four meetings against each other in the regular season. The Sun attained home-court advantage however, because they beat the Liberty by more than the Liberty beat them. The series would be played with game 1 at New York and games 2 and 3 (if needed) at Connecticut. The Sun swept the Liberty and game 3 was not needed. The Sun advanced to the WNBA Finals. The team would be facing off against the Seattle Storm. The Storm had the better record so the series would be played with game 1 at Connecticut, and games 2 and 3 (if needed) at Seattle. This was the last year the league played the finals in a best-of-three setup. The Storm beat the Sun 2 games to 1 to win the WNBA Finals.

    2004 Game Log: Postseason
    Eastern Conference Semifinals
    Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series
    1 September 25 @ Washington L 59-67 Whalen (16) McWilliams-Franklin (9) Douglas (4) MCI Center
    13,263     		0-1
    2 September 27 Washington W 80-70 Whalen (21) Sales (7) Whalen (6) Mohegan Sun Arena
    5,760     		1-1
    3 September 29 Washington W 76-56 Sales (18) McWilliams-Franklin (11) Douglas, Whalen (6) Mohegan Sun Arena
    5,514     		2-1
    Eastern Conference Finals
    Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series
    1 October 1 @ New York W 61-51 Sales (15) McWilliams-Franklin, Palmer-Daniel (10) Whalen (5) Madison Square Garden
    12,146     		1-0
    2 October 3 New York W 60-57 McWilliams-Franklin (18) McWilliams-Franklin (9) Douglas (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
    6,734     		2-0
    WNBA Finals
    Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series
    1 October 8 Seattle W 68-64 Douglas (18) Sales (9) Whalen (9) Mohegan Sun Arena
    9,518 (sellout)     		1-0
    2 October 10 @ Seattle L 65-67 Sales (32) McWilliams-Franklin (7) Whalen (7) KeyArena
    17,072 (sellout)     		1-1
    3 October 12 @ Seattle L 60-74 Sales (18) Douglas (6) Douglas, Whalen, McWilliams-Franklin (2) KeyArena
    17,072 (sellout)     		1-2

    Depth[edit]

    Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Inactive
    C Taj McWilliams-Franklin Le'Coe Willingham Brooke Wyckoff
    PF Wendy Palmer-Daniel Asjha Jones Le'Coe Willingham
    SF Nykesha Sales Jessica Brungo Candace Futrell
    SG Katie Douglas Jennifer Derevjanik
    PG Lindsay Whalen Debbie Black

    Player stats[edit]

    Awards and honors[edit]

    • Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Nykesha Sales, and Lindsay Whalen were named to the WNBA All-Star team.
    • Nykesha Sales was named to the All-WNBA Second Team.
    • Wendy Palmer-Daniel was named the Most Improved Player.
    • Nykesha Sales was given the Off Season Community Assist Award.
    • Nykesha Sales was named the WNBA Player of the Week for the week of June 27, 2004.

    References[edit]

    1. ^ WNBA.com: 2004 WNBA Draft Board
    2. ^ WNBA.com: 2004 WNBA Transactions

    External links[edit]

    This article is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
    Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004 Connecticut Sun season
    Status: article is cached
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