Mohegan — The Connecticut Sun continue to be defensive.
Defense was a foundation of Connecticut’s success during its franchise-record 2021 season with four of its starters earning WNBA All-Defensive Team honors — Briann January, Jasmine Thomas and Brionna and Jonquel Jones.
Only the Joneses remain from that group, but the Sun have continued to play well defensively this season. They’ll need to continue that Friday night when they host the defending champion Chicago Sky (7, Mohegan Sun Arena, NESN).
“Philosophically, we are who we are,” Connecticut head coach and general manager Curt Miller said. “We just have a little bit different personnel.”
The Sun (10-3) used the combination of defense, grit and deliberate pace to tie the single season franchise record for most wins in a season (26). Their 26-6 record set a single-season franchise record for winning percentage (.813). They were also first in defensive field goal percentage (40.9).
Connecticut was going to take a step back in defensive efficiency this season when it opted to sign guard Courtney Williams in free agency, meaning that it wouldn’t have the cap space to keep January, who later signed with the Seattle Storm.
Thomas, the team’s longtime starting point guard, suffered a season-ending ACL injury in her right knee in the first quarter of the Sun’s fourth game of the season (May 22 at the Indiana Fever).
Connecticut ranks fifth out of 12 teams in defensive field goal percentage (42.8) this season while holding opponents to a league-low 64.5 field goal attempts per game.
The Indiana Fever shot 37.5-percent against the Sun on Wednesday night (Connecticut won, 88-69).
Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell was shooting 44.7-percent prior to Wednesday and was the league’s third-leading scorer (19.5 ppg).
Mitchell shot 3 of 13 for nine points in 32 minutes on Wednesday. She missed 10 of 12 shots and…