The sun set on the WNBA in Connecticut Thursday night, leaving lasting memories and an indelible link with the UConn Huskies women’s basketball program.

The Connecticut Sun played their final game at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., defeating the Toronto Tempo 95-81 in front of an appreciative crowd of 8,911 that gave the players a standing ovation in the final moments of a tenure that ended with an 11-33 record.

The franchise, sold to Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, will be reborn next season as the Houston Comets.

The name Connecticut Sun will be retired. There won’t be 22 WNBA games in Uncasville in 2027. But the franchise won’t be forgotten in the region.

In 2003, the Mohegan Tribe purchased the struggling Orlando Miracle and moved the franchise to Connecticut. Adding pro basketball to an area with prospering college basketball programs proved a natural fit.

A bonus for UConn fans was the chance to stay connected with some of their favorite Huskies players – either those who signed with the Sun or returned to Uncasville with a visiting team.

At least 15 women who played for head coach Geno Auriemma at UConn also suited up for the Sun. It’s an impressive list that includes Rebecca Lobo, who spent her final WNBA season (2003) on her way to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame with the Sun.

And there’s a future Hall of Fame member on the list, too – Tina Charles, selected No. 1 overall in the 2010 WNBA Draft out of UConn by the Sun. She spent her first four pro seasons with Connecticut, winning both the league’s Rookie of the Year (2010) and Most Valuable Player (2012) awards in that span. She returned to the Sun for one final season in 2025, retiring after the season.

Even at age 36, she showed her WNBA dominance as she averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists over 43 games (42 starts).

Charles forever will have a place in the Connecticut Sun record book. So will Nykesha Sales, who overlapped with Lobo at UConn in the 1990s.

Charles is the Sun’s all-time leader in points (17.0) and rebounds (9.6) per game. Sales holds the record for most points (3,955) in team history. Sales is entering her first season as an assistant coach on Auriemma's UConn staff.

The link with UConn will continue in Houston.

The Sun’s relocation returns women’s pro basketball to the nation’s fourth-largest city. The Comets were one of the original eight members of the WNBA, founded in 1997. They won the first four league championships, but by the end of 2008, the team was no more. It folded due to insolvency.

Fertitta bought the franchise for $300 million and intends to keep the Sun’s management in place.

The Sun have two former Huskies on the roster, both under contract through the 2027 season: Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Aaliyah Edwards.

Two former UConn players are at the top of that management tree.

Jennifer Rizzotti, who won an NCAA title at UConn in 1995, has served as the president of the Sun since 2021. Her new title in Houston will be president of basketball operations.

Morgan Tuck, part of the UConn team that won four consecutive championships (2013-16), spent the past two seasons as the Sun’s general manager and will remain in that position.

"There are wonderful people coming over from the Sun," Houston Rockets vice chairman Patrick Fertitta said in a May 14 news conference in Houston. "Jen Rizzotti has been there for a long time and done a wonderful job … and Morgan Tuck, who has been there for a few years, has a WNBA championship in her own right and has done a fantastic job helping build that team and running the team on the basketball side."

"I think it starts with people, and I couldn't be more excited, enthusiastic and confident in the people who are going to help run the organization here," Fertitta continued.