Earlier this week, the Connecticut Sun held the Phoenix Mercury to 47 points and 23.8% shooting, including 1-of-27 from 3-point land, in one of the most dominant defensive performances in WNBA history. A few days later, Connecticut followed it up by limiting the Atlanta Dream to 50 points on 28.4% from the field.
Despite another busy offseason in which they overhauled their supporting cast, the Sun are once again a defensive powerhouse. They are long, athletic and have mastered the art of being extremely physical without fouling. Their hard-nosed style, slow pace and ability to control the glass grinds teams down.
Here's a look at their ranks in some key categories:
| Category | Stat | League Rank |
|---|---|---|
Defensive Rating | 89.1 | 1st |
Opponent eFG% | 46.8 | t-5th |
Opponent Turnover % | 22.4 | 3rd |
Opponent Free Rate | 0.251 | 4th |
Rebounding Rate | 52.2 | 2nd |
PACE | 93.42 | 12th |
The Sun's prowess on that side of the ball is the primary reason why they remain the only undefeated team in the league. At 8-0, they are off to the best start in franchise history and are putting themselves in elite company. The Sun are the seventh team ever to start off at least 8-0, and they are only five wins away from matching the 2016 Minnesota Lynx's all-time mark of 13-0.
WNBA Power Rankings
| 1 |  |
| Three more games, three more wins for the Sun, who remain the league's only undefeated team and are off to the best start in franchise history. The main reason for their success so far is their defense, which has been historically good. They are forcing opponents into turnovers on 22.4% of their defensive possessions and allowing just 89.1 points per 100 possessions. No team has had a defensive rating under 90 since the Fever in 2007. | |
| 2 |  |
| The Liberty capped off a successful 3-0 week with one of the best offensive performances by any team this season in their 36-point win over the Fever: 104 points on 57.6% shooting, including 44% from 3-point land, and 30 assists on 36 made baskets. The big night from behind the arc was the most encouraging aspect, as they've really struggled to make open shots this season. Even after the win over the Fever they remain ninth in the league at 32%, a far cry from their record-setting shooting last summer. | |
| 3 |  |
| After an impressive road win to cool off the red-hot Lynx, the Aces fell to the Dream on the same day that they enticed former All-Star Tiffany Hayes to come out of retirement to sign for the remainder of the season. That defeat -- in which A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum combined for 62 of their 74 points, while they got just five points from the bench -- showed exactly why they went out and got Hayes. | |
| 4 |  |
| The Lynx fell to the Aces early in the week, but they responded immediately with wins over the Mercury and Wings to continue their impressive start to the season. Their shooting, which was highlighted this week by rookie Alissa Pili's breakout performance of 20 points on 7-of-9 from the field, has been remarkable. They lead the league in both overall field goal percentage (45.9) and 3-point percentage (38.6). The last team to pull off that feat was the Storm in 2018. | |
| 5 |  |
| Two more victories this week for the Storm, who suddenly have the second-longest winning streak in the league at four games. A soft schedule has certainly helped, but you can only play who's in front of you and the Storm have done their job. Perhaps most importantly, Skylar Diggins-Smith is looking like her old self lately. She's put up at least 15 points and shot 50% or better in three consecutive games. | |
| 6 |  |
| The Dream have struggled to find any consistency since the start of last season, so perhaps it was fitting that they followed up their big win over the Aces with a 50-point outing in a loss to the Sun. Even after some of their offseason additions, it's still a chore for the Dream to put the ball in the basket. They are 10th in field goal percentage (40.8) and 10th in offensive rating (95.4). | |
| 7 |  |
| A dominant win over the Sparks on Sunday, in which they went 14-of-29 from behind the arc, snapped a four-game losing streak for the Mercury. That was quite a turnaround from earlier in the week, when they had one of the worst shooting nights in league history in a loss to the Sun: 15-of-63 overall, including 1-of-27 from downtown. In the win over the Sparks, Diana Taurasi broke her own record as the oldest player (41 years, 357 days) in league history with a 30-point game. | |
| 8 |  |
| If there was a Shaqtin' a Fool for the WNBA, Sevgi Uzun's attempt at an off-the-back game winner vs. the Sun would be the leader in the clubhouse for the season-long award. Comedic moments aside, the Wings have simply struggled to find any sort of consistency on either side of the ball without Satou Sabally or Natasha Howard, and it's hard to see how that changes until they return. | |
| 9 |  |
| Another competitive week for the Sky was overshadowed by unnecessary on-and-off-court drama during and after their nail-biting loss to the Fever. Chennedy Carter's cheap shot on Caitlin Clark drew plenty of attention for all the wrong reasons, and was later upgraded to a Flagrant 1, while Angel Reese and the team were fined for breaking the league's rules on media availability. | |
| 10 |  |
| In three games this week -- one win and two losses -- the Sparks turned the ball over 59 times. For the season, they've had fewer than 10 turnovers just once and are last in the league in turnover percentage at 22.7. That is the worst mark on record since the 2012 Sky (22.9). What makes their turnover problems even more frustrating is they've actually been extremely efficient (53.6 true shooting %, third in the league) when they get a shot up. | |
| 11 |  |
| Another busy and dramatic stretch for the Fever ended with a blowout loss to the Liberty in which Caitlin Clark was held to three points -- her fewest in the WNBA or college -- and Aliyah Boston exited with an ankle injury. Earlier in the week, Clark had her first 30-point game in the pros in a loss to the Sparks and was the subject of a controversial hit from Chennedy Carter in their win over the Sky. The good news for the Fever is they will get a much-needed break with their next game not until Friday. | |
| 12 |  |
| The Mystics are still searching for their first win after falling to the Dream and Liberty this week to push their record to 0-8. They remain the league's only winless team and are approaching some unfortunate territory. This is tied for the worst start in franchise history (0-8 in 2007) and seventh-worst in league history. If there's any good news, it's that they still have a long way to go to match the all-time record of 0-17 by the 2008 Dream. | |
