2006 Connecticut Sun season

2006 Connecticut Sun season
Head Coach	Mike Thibault
Arena	Mohegan Sun Arena
Attendance	7,417 per game
Results
Record	26–8 (.765)
Place	1st (Eastern)
Playoff Finish	Lost in Eastern Conference Finals
Team Leaders
Points	Katie Douglas (16.4)
Rebounds	Taj McW.-Franklin (9.6)
Assists	Lindsay Whalen (4.6)
Connecticut Sun seasons
< 2005	2007 >

The 2006 WNBA season was their eighth season and their fourth in Connecticut. The Sun attempted to return to the postseason for the fourth consecutive season and were successful. Before the season started, many thought the Sun would make their third consecutive trip to the WNBA Finals, but lost to the eventual champion Detroit Shock in 3 games.

Offseason

Transactions

• July 24: The Sun signed Jessica Brungo.
• July 13: The Sun signed Brooke Queenan.
• June 29: The Sun waived Ambrosia Anderson.
• May 19: The Sun waived Donna Loffhagen and Jennifer Derevjanik.
• May 16: The Sun waived Brooke Queenan.
• May 15: The Sun waived Monique Coker.
• May 13: The Sun waived Katie Cronin and Jessica Brungo.
• May 12: The Sun signed Brooke Queenan.
• May 11: The Sun signed Ambrosia Anderson.
• April 6: The Sun signed Katie Cronin.
• March 27: The Sun have agreed to terms with Erin Phillips.
• March 15: The Sun signed Monique Coker.
• March 1: The Sun resigned Jennifer Derevjanik.
• February 28: The Sun resigned Jamie Carey.
• February 27: The Sun resigned Laura Summerton and Le'Coe Willingham and signed Donna Loffhagen.
• February 10: The Sun resigned Asjha Jones.
• February 7: The Sun resigned Nykesha Sales.
• February 1: The Sun announced the signings of Megan Mahoney and Candace Futrell.

Roster

Connecticut Sun roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From G 10 Carey, Jamie 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 135 lb (61 kg) Texas F 22 Brungo, Jessica 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Penn State G/F 32 Douglas, Katie (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Purdue C 12 Dydek, Margo 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Poland G/F 21 Hairston, Kamesha 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 146 lb (66 kg) Temple F 15 Jones, Asjha 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Connecticut G/F 24 Mahoney, Megan 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Kansas State F/C 11 McWilliams-Franklin, Taj 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) St. Edward's College G 31 Phillips, Erin 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 162 lb (73 kg) Australia F 2 Queenan, Brooke 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Boston University G/F 42 Sales, Nykesha (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Connecticut C 14 Summerton, Laura 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 167 lb (76 kg) Australia G 13 Whalen, Lindsay 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Minnesota F 43 Willingham, Le'Coe 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Auburn	Head coach Mike Thibault (St. Martin's University) Assistant coaches Scott Hawk (Nebraska-Omaha) Bernadette Mattox (Georgia) Athletic trainer Jeremy Norman (Keene State) 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.
z - Connecticut Sun	26	8	.765	–	14–3	12–5	15–5
x - Detroit Shock	23	11	.676	3.0	14–3	9–8	14–6
x - Indiana Fever	21	13	.618	5.0	12–5	9–8	12–8
x - Washington Mystics	18	16	.529	8.0	13–4	5–12	12–8
e - New York Liberty	11	23	.324	15.0	7–10	4–13	7–13
e - Charlotte Sting	11	23	.324	15.0	7–10	4–3	6–14
e - Chicago Sky	5	29	.147	21.0	3–14	2–15	4–16

Schedule

Preseason

2006 Game Log: Preseason
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 May 7 Detroit L 58-77 Carey (10) Jones (8) Phillips (6) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,272 0-1 2 May 9 @ Sacramento L 73-74 Sales (19) Jones (7) N/A University Arena 6,392 0-2 3 May 13 @ Phoenix W 96-85 Sales (30) McWilliams-Franklin (9) Douglas (4) US Airways Center 2,069 1-2

Playoffs

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 swept the Mystics and game 3 was not needed. In the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Sun had to face rival Detroit Shock. Again, the Sun had the better record and the series would be played with game 1 at Detroit and games 2 and 3 (if needed) at Connecticut. Even though the Sun had a better record in the regular season, Detroit had managed to beat Connecticut in all four of the season meetings. Surprisingly, the Sun won game two of the series but went on to lose game three on their home court. Detroit advanced to the WNBA Finals. Had Connecticut advanced, it would have been the third consecutive season the Sun had made it to the WNBA Finals.

• For the fourth consecutive season, the Sun qualify for the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
• For the fourth consecutive season, the Sun advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

2006 Game Log: Postseason
Eastern Conference Semifinals Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 August 18 @ Washington W 76-61 Whalen (22) McWilliams-Franklin (14) McWilliams-Franklin (6) Verizon Center 8,547 1-0 2 August 20 Washington W 68-65 Douglas (16) McWilliams-Franklin (14) Sales (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,579 2-0
Eastern Conference Finals Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 August 24 @ Detroit L 59-70 Whalen, Phillips (13) Dydek (8) McWilliams-Franklin, Whalen, Phillips (3) Palace of Auburn Hills 9,476 0-1 2 August 26 Detroit W 77-73 McWilliams-Franklin (18) Jones (8) Sales (4) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,377 1-1 3 August 27 Detroit L 55-79 McWilliams-Franklin (12) Dydek (9) Sales (3) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,820 1-2

Depth

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Inactive
C	Margo Dydek	Laura Summerton
PF	Taj McWilliams-Franklin	Asjha Jones -- Le'Coe Willingham
SF	Nykesha Sales	Megan Mahoney
SG	Katie Douglas	Erin Phillips
PG	Lindsay Whalen	Jamie Carey

Player stats

• http://www.wnba.com/sun/stats/2006/

Awards and honors

• Katie Douglas, Margo Dydek, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Nykesha Sales, and Lindsay Whalen were named to the All-Star Team.
• Katie Douglas was named the All-Star Game MVP.
• Head Coach Mike Thibault was named Coach of the Year.
• Katie Douglas was named to the All-WNBA First Team.
• Taj McWilliams-Franklin was named to the All-WNBA Second Team.
• Katie Douglas was named to the WNBA All-Defensive First Team for the second consecutive year.
• Margo Dydek was named to the WNBA All-Defensive Second Team.
• Taj McWilliams-Franklin was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of July 24, 2006.
• Taj McWilliams-Franklin was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of August 7, 2006.