2003 Connecticut Sun season

2003 Connecticut Sun season
Head Coach	Mike Thibault
Arena	Mohegan Sun Arena
Attendance	6,023 per game
Results
Record	18–16 (.529)
Place	3rd (Eastern)
Playoff Finish	Lost in Eastern Conference Finals
Team Leaders
Points	Nykesha Sales (16.1)
Rebounds	Taj McW.-Franklin (6.7)
Assists	Shannon Johnson (5.8)
Connecticut Sun seasons
< 2002	2004 >

The 2003 WNBA season was their fifth season and their first in Connecticut. The Sun made the playoffs for the first time since 2000. They would sweep the Charlotte Sting in the first round, only to get swept to the eventual champion Detroit Shock in the conference finals.

Offseason

Dispersal Draft

Based on the Sun's 2002 record, they would pick 6th in the Miami Sol/Portland Fire dispersal draft. The Sun selected point guard Debbie Black.

Transactions

• September 23: Rebecca Lobo announced her retirement.
• May 21: The Sun waived Rasheeda Clark and Lindsey Wilson and announced the retirement of Carla McGhee.
• May 10: The Sun waived Brianne Stepherson.
• May 7: The Sun waived Natalie Powers.
• May 1: The Sun waived Davalyn Cunningham.
• February 14: The Sun traded its second round pick in the 2003 WNBA Draft to the Houston Comets in return for Rebecca Lobo.

Roster

Connecticut Sun roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From G 24 Black, Debbie 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) 124 lb (56 kg) Saint Joseph's F 15 Coleman, Courtney 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Ohio State G/F 32 Douglas, Katie 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Purdue F/C 7 Hicks, Jessie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Maryland G 31 Johnson, Adrienne 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 154 lb (70 kg) Ohio State G 14 Johnson, Shannon 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 152 lb (69 kg) South Carolina F 50 Lobo, Rebecca 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Connecticut F/C 11 McWilliams-Franklin, Taj (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) St. Edward's College F 3 Palmer-Daniel, Wendy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Virginia G/F 42 Sales, Nykesha (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Connecticut F 21 Wyckoff, Brooke 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Florida State	Head coach Mike Thibault (St. Martin's University) Assistant coaches Scott Hawk (Nebraska-Omaha) Bernadette Mattox (Georgia) Athletic trainer Jen Brodeur Strength and conditioning coach Lisa Ciaravella (Lynn University) Legend (C) Team captain (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured

Season standings

Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
Detroit Shock x	25	9	.735	–	13–4	12–5	18–6
Charlotte Sting x	18	16	.529	7.0	13–4	5–12	12–12
Connecticut Sun x	18	16	.529	7.0	10–7	8–9	11–13
Cleveland Rockers x	17	17	.500	8.0	11–6	6–11	13–11
Indiana Fever o	16	18	.471	9.0	11–6	5–12	12–12
New York Liberty o	16	18	.471	9.0	11–6	5–12	11–13
Washington Mystics o	9	25	.265	16.0	3–14	6–11	7–17

Schedule

Preseason

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record
1	May 6	New York	L 81-73	0-1
2	May 11	@ Charlotte	W 65-64	1-1
3	May 16	Houston	L 72-79	1-2

Regular season

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record
1	May 24	Los Angeles	L 73-82	0-1
2	May 30	@ Houston	W 91-83	1-1
3	June 1	@ San Antonio	W 83-64	2-1
4	June 5	@ Detroit	L 89-103	2-2
5	June 7	Houston	W 65-58	3-2
6	June 13	Washington	W 84-70	4-2
7	June 14	@ Cleveland	L 56-84	4-3
8	June 18	Cleveland	W 70-57	5-3
9	June 20	@ Indiana	L 74-84	5-4
10	June 22	Detroit	L 73-82 (OT)	5-5
11	June 24	@ Washington	W 65-63	6-5
12	June 26	Indiana	L 90-94 (OT)	6-6
13	June 28	@ Charlotte	L 55-69	6-7
14	July 1	@ New York	L 64-90	6-8
15	July 2	Cleveland	W 64-57	7-8
16	July 4	Sacramento	W 69-67	8-8
17	July 6	New York	W 62-58	9-8
18	July 8	@ Detroit	L 50-66	9-9
19	July 10	@ Minnesota	L 75-83	9-10
20	July 17	Seattle	L 65-67	9-11
21	July 19	@ Phoenix	W 75-67	10-11
22	July 20	@ Los Angeles	W 76-73	11-11
23	July 23	Minnesota	W 84-70	12-11
24	July 26	Charlotte	W 74-70	13-11
25	August 1	Washington	L 45-48	13-12
26	August 3	Indiana	W 66-55	14-12
27	August 5	Detroit	L 61-78	14-13
28	August 9	@ Charlotte	L 68-69	14-14
29	August 12	New York	L 73-74	14-15
30	August 16	@ New York	W 84-71	15-15
31	August 19	@ Cleveland	L 52-69	15-16
32	August 22	Charlotte	W 63-55	16-16
33	August 23	@ Washington	W 74-67	17-16
34	August 25	@ Indiana	W 72-62	18-16

Playoffs

In the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Sun had to face the Charlotte Sting. Since the Sting had the better record, the series would be played with game 1 at Connecticut, game 2 at Charlotte, and game 3 (if needed) at Charlotte. The Sun swept the Sting and advanced to the second round. In the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Sun had to face the Detroit Shock. Since the Shock had the better record, the series would be played with game 1 at Connecticut and games 2 and 3 (if needed) at Detroit. The Shock swept the Sun and game 3 was not needed.

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game Type
1	August 28	Charlotte	W 68-66	1-0	Eastern Conf. Semi-Finals, Game 1
2	August 30	@ Charlotte	W 68-62	2-0	Eastern Conf. Semi-Finals, Game 2
3	September 5	Detroit	L 63-73	2-1	Eastern Conference Finals, Game 1
4	September 7	@ Detroit	L 73-79	2-2	Eastern Conference Finals, Game 2

Depth

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Inactive
C	Taj McWilliams-Franklin	Jessie Hicks
PF	Brooke Wyckoff	Wendy Palmer -- Rebecca Lobo
SF	Katie Douglas	Courtney Coleman
SG	Nykesha Sales	Adrienne Johnson
PG	Shannon Johnson	Debbie Black

Player stats

• http://www.wnba.com/sun/stats/2003/

Awards and honors

• Shannon Johnson and Nykesha Sales were named to the WNBA All-Star team.
• Nykesha Sales was given the Off Season Community Assist Award.