2009 Connecticut Sun season

2009 Connecticut Sun season
CoachMike Thibault
ArenaMohegan Sun Arena
Attendance6,794 per game
Results
Record16–18 (.471)
Place6th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Team Leaders
PointsJones (16.7)
ReboundsGruda (6.3)
AssistsWhalen (4.6)
Media
TelevisionWCTX
← 2008 season
2010 season →

The 2009 WNBA season is the 11th season for the Connecticut Sun franchise of the Women's National Basketball Association. It is their seventh in Connecticut. The Sun attempted to advance to the WNBA Playoffs for the seventh consecutive season, but did not qualify for the postseason.

Offseason

Dispersal Draft

Based on the Sun's 2008 record, they would pick 10th in the Houston Comets dispersal draft. The Sun waived their pick.

WNBA draft

The following are the Sun's selections in the 2009 WNBA draft.

Round Pick Player Nationality School/team/country
1 10 Chante Black  United States Duke
2 17 (from Minn.) Lyndra Littles  United States Virginia
3 36 Alba Torrens  Spain Spain

[1]

Transactions

  • July 4: The Sun waived Lauren Ervin due to the arrival of Sandrine Gruda.
  • June 28: The Sun waived Barbara Turner due to the arrival of Anete Jēkabsone-Žogota.
  • June 19: The Sun signed Tan White and waived Kristi Cirone.
  • June 5: The Sun waived Lyndra Littles, Danielle Page and Carrem Gay.
  • June 3: The Sun claimed Kiesha Brown off waivers.
  • June 1: The Sun waived Ketia Swanier and Ashley Hayes.
  • April 20: The Sun signed Carrem Gay to a training camp contract.
  • April 20: The Sun announced that Tamika Raymond would sit out the 2009 season.
  • April 13: The Sun announced Jamie Carey's retirement.
  • April 13: The Sun signed Ashley Hayes to a training camp contract.
  • April 10: The Sun signed Kristi Cirone to a training camp contract.
  • February 13: The Sun signed Anete Jēkabsone-Žogota to a training camp contract.
  • January 23: The Sun signed Lauren Ervin to a rookie-scale contract.
  • January 21: The Sun signed Barbara Turner, Kerri Gardin, and Danielle Page for the 2009 season.
  • January 7: The Sun signed Kerri Gardin and Danielle Page to training camp contracts.

[2]

Date Trade
March 14, 2008 To Connecticut Sun To Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota's second-round 2009 Draft pick and Tamika Raymond Connecticut's second-round 2009 Draft pick and Kristen Rasmussen

Free agents

Additions

Player Signed Former team
Kerri Gardin January 21, 2009 re-signed
Anete Jēkabsone-Žogota February 13, 2009 free agent
Kiesha Brown June 3, 2009 Washington Mystics
Tan White June 19, 2009 Indiana Fever


Subtractions

Player Left New team
Jamie Carey April 13, 2009 retired
Tamika Raymond April 20, 2009 free agent
Ketia Swanier June 1, 2009 Phoenix Mercury
Lyndra Littles June 5, 2009 free agent
Danielle Page June 5, 2009 free agent
Barbara Turner June 28, 2009 free agent
Lauren Ervin July 4, 2009 free agent
Svetlana Abrosimova 2009 free agent

Roster

Connecticut Sun roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
C 33 United States Black, Chante 6' 5" (1.96m) 188 lb (85kg) Duke
PG 4 United States Brown, Kiesha 5' 10" (1.78m) 134 lb (61kg) Georgia
SF 41 United States Gardin, Kerri 6' 1" (1.85m) 165 lb (75kg) Virginia Tech
C 7 France Gruda, Sandrine 6' 4" (1.93m) 185 lb (84kg) France
G/F 1 United States Holt, Amber 6' 0" (1.83m) 167 lb (76kg) Middle Tennessee State
SG 10 Latvia Jēkabsone-Žogota, Anete 5' 9" (1.75m) 180 lb (82kg) Latvia
PF 15 United States Jones, Asjha 6' 2" (1.88m) 198 lb (90kg) Connecticut
PG 31 Australia Phillips, Erin 5' 7" (1.7m) 162 lb (73kg) Australia
PG 13 United States Whalen, Lindsay 5' 9" (1.75m) 150 lb (68kg) Minnesota
SG 20 United States White, Tan 5' 7" (1.7m) 154 lb (70kg) Mississippi State
PF 00 United States Whitmore, Tamika 6' 2" (1.88m) 190 lb (86kg) Memphis
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Athletic trainer
Strength and conditioning coach
  • United States Jodi Hopkins (Ohio)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Season standings

Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Indiana Fever x 22 12 .647 – 14–3 8–9 17–5
Atlanta Dream x 18 16 .529 4.0 12–5 6–11 10–12
Detroit Shock x 18 16 .529 4.0 11–6 7–10 11–11
Washington Mystics x 16 18 .471 6.0 11–6 5–12 10–12
Chicago Sky o 16 18 .471 6.0 12–5 4–13 10–12
Connecticut Sun o 16 18 .471 6.0 12–5 4–13 9–12
New York Liberty o 13 21 .382 9.0 8–9 5–12 8–13

Schedule

Preseason

2009 Game Log: Preseason
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
1 May 22 7:00pm New York 74-62 Jones (11) Black (7) Whalen (3) Mohegan Sun Arena
5,578		 1-0
2 May 27 7:30pm @ Atlanta 73-76 Phillips (18) Black, Ervin (6) Swanier, Whalen (3) Philips Arena
4,980		 1-1
3 May 31 7:00pm Los Angeles 77-80 Phillips (11) Littles (8) Phillips, Swanier, Whalen (3) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,630		 1-2

Regular season

2009 Game Log: Regular Season
June
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
1 June 6 4:00pm Washington 70-82 Jones (22) Whalen (6) Whalen (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,191		 0-1
2 June 7 4:00pm @ New York WCTX 66-57 Whalen (14) Whalen (12) Brown, Cirone, Whalen, Whitmore (2) Madison Square Garden
13,397		 1-1
3 June 14 3:00pm Atlanta 62-67 Whalen (16) Black (9) Whalen (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,429		 1-2
4 June 16 8:00pm @ Chicago 75-78 Jones, Whitmore (16) Jones (5) Whalen (8) UIC Pavilion
2,396		 1-3
5 June 19 7:00pm Chicago 91-61 Jones (17) Gardin (11) Gardin (7) Mohegan Sun Arena
5,892		 2-3
6 June 21 3:00pm San Antonio NBA TV
WCTX		 71-58 Jones (19) Black (8) Jones, Turner, Whalen (3) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,928		 3-3
7 June 27 7:00pm Atlanta 82-68 Jones (24) Jones (12) Whalen (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,264		 4-3
July
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
8 July 2 7:00pm @ Indiana NBA TV
FSI		 53-67 Whalen (11) Black (8) Brown, Whalen, White (3) Conseco Fieldhouse
6,468		 4-4
9 July 5 6:00pm @ Detroit 95-92 (OT) Gruda (23) Gardin, Gruda (6) Jones (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
6,981		 5-4
10 July 7 7:30pm @ Atlanta 67-72 Jones, White (14) Gruda, Jones, White (6) Brown (4) Philips Arena
6,225		 5-5
11 July 11 7:00pm Detroit NBA TV
WCTX		 77-79 (OT) Jones (23) Jones (10) Whalen (3) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,342		 5-6
12 July 14 7:00pm Los Angeles ESPN2 82-71 Jones (24) Gruda (6) Jones, Whalen (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,612		 6-6
13 July 17 8:00pm @ San Antonio 72-64 Jones (17) Gruda, Whalen (7) Jones, Whalen (5) AT&T Center
9,524		 7-6
14 July 19 3:00pm Indiana 67-61 Whalen (15) Gruda (9) Whalen (6) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,517		 8-6
15 July 22 7:00pm Sacramento 83-75 Jones (28) Jones (10) Phillips (7) Mohegan Sun Arena
5,675		 9-6
16 July 28 7:30pm Phoenix ESPN2 80-95 Jekabsone-Zogota (15) Whalen (8) Holt, Whalen (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,739		 9-7
17 July 30 8:00pm @ Indiana FSI 85-94 (OT) Jones (21) Gruda (10) 5 players (3) Conseco Fieldhouse
6,538		 9-8
August
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
18 August 1 7:00pm @ Chicago NBA TV
WCTX		 72-84 White (16) White (6) Jekabsone-Zogota (6) UIC Pavilion
3,071		 9-9
19 August 2 6:00pm @ Detroit 83-65 Whalen (22) Gruda (8) Whalen (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,814		 10-9
20 August 7 8:00pm @ Minnesota NBA TV
FSN-N		 88-95 Gruda (21) Gruda, Jones (6) Jekabsone-Zogota (7) Target Center
8,134		 10-10
21 August 9 3:00pm Washington 96-67 Whalen (16) Holt (8) Whalen (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,528		 11-10
22 August 13 7:00pm Seattle 64-53 Gruda (14) Jones (10) Whalen (7) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,983		 12-10
23 August 14 7:00pm @ Washington 89-91 (2OT) Jones (23) Gruda (10) Whalen (5) Verizon Center
9,738		 12-11
24 August 19 7:00pm New York 74-69 Whalen (20) Whalen (10) White (6) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,050		 13-11
25 August 21 7:30pm @ New York NBA TV
MSG		 83-85 (OT) Gruda (24) Gruda (12) Whalen (7) Madison Square Garden
9,355		 13-12
26 August 22 7:00pm Minnesota 98-94 Gruda, Whalen (21) Gruda (9) Whalen (8) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,803		 14-12
27 August 25 7:00pm Detroit 70-90 Gruda (19) Gardin (7) Whalen (8) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,811		 14-13
28 August 27 10:00pm @ Seattle 74-86 Whalen (18) Gardin (8) Whalen (5) KeyArena
6,588		 14-14
29 August 29 10:00pm @ Phoenix NBA TV
WCTX		 84-95 Jekabsone-Zogota (23) Gardin (13) Brown, Gardin, Whalen (3) US Airways Center
9,977		 14-15
30 August 30 9:30pm @ Los Angeles NBA TV
FSNW		 81-91 Jekabsone-Zogota (21) Gruda (7) Whalen (9) STAPLES Center
11,072		 14-16
September
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
31 September 1 10:00pm @ Sacramento 70-90 Gruda, White (13) Gruda (5) Brown, Phillips (3) ARCO Arena
6,015		 14-17
32 September 4 7:00pm New York NBA TV
MSG		 88-85 (OT) Jekabsone-Zogota (23) Jekabsone-Zogota (7) Whalen (7) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,685		 15-17
33 September 11 7:00pm @ Atlanta 64-88 Gruda (16) Gruda (6) 4 players (2) Philips Arena
8,644		 15-18
34 September 13 3:00pm Indiana WCTX 95-85 Gardin (23) Gardin (8) Phillips (7) Mohegan Sun Arena
9,047		 16-18
All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess

Depth

Pos. Starter Bench
C Sandrine Gruda Chante Black
PF Asjha Jones Tamika Whitmore
SF Tan White Amber Holt / Kerri Gardin
SG Anete Jekabsone-Zogota Erin Phillips
PG Lindsay Whalen Kiesha Brown

Regular Season 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

Player statistics

Player GP GS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Chante Black 33 8 13.0 3.2 0.2 0.39 0.82 2.9
Kiesha Brown 34 0 11.6 1.6 1.1 0.38 0.09 3.8
Kristi Cirone 4 0 5.8 1.3 1.0 0.50 0.00 1.8
Lauren Ervin 8 0 7.0 1.6 0.0 0.13 0.00 2.0
Kerri Gardin 33 23 18.1 4.3 1.2 0.76 0.73 5.5
Sandrine Gruda 26 25 31.2 6.3 1.3 0.88 1.58 13.5
Amber Holt 23 7 16.5 3.2 1.9 0.39 0.09 6.0
Anete Jēkabsone-Žogota 27 16 23.9 2.9 2.2 0.33 0.00 9.4
Asjha Jones 23 23 31.6 5.9 2.4 0.87 0.57 16.7
Erin Phillips 32 18 23.1 3.2 2.1 1.34 0.09 8.1
Barbara Turner 7 0 20.6 2.1 2.0 0.71 0.00 4.0
Lindsay Whalen 34 34 29.4 4.6 4.6 1.26 0.15 12.3
Tan White 30 15 22.0 2.7 2.2 1.17 0.30 9.5
Tamika Whitmore 24 1 15.7 2.2 1.0 0.38 0.13 4.4

Team statistics

Team FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
Connecticut Sun .406 .316 .747 34.8 17.9 7.4 3.8 13.3 19.9 78.0
Opponents .426 .322 .792 37.5 15.4 7.3 3.7 16.2 20.1 78.1

Awards and honors

Attendance

Regular Season Attendance
Year Average: Home Average: Away High Low Sellouts Total for Year WNBA Game Average
2009 6,794 (12th) 7,761 (10th) 9,047 5,675 0 115,496 8,039

References

  1. ^ WNBA.com: 2009 WNBA Draft Board Archived 2009-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ WNBA.com: 2009 WNBA Transactions

External links

  • v
  • t
  • e
Connecticut Sun
  • Formerly the Orlando Miracle
  • Founded in 1999
  • Based in Uncasville, Connecticut
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