2008 Connecticut Sun season

Last updated

2008 Connecticut Sun season
Coach Mike Thibault
Arena Mohegan Sun Arena
Attendance7,644 per game
Results
Record21–13 (.618)
Place2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishLost in First Round
Team Leaders
Points Asjha Jones (17.0)
Rebounds Asjha Jones (6.1)
Assists Lindsay Whalen (5.4)
Media
Television WCTX

The 2008 WNBA season was their tenth season and their sixth in Connecticut. The Sun successfully advanced to the WNBA Playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. Lindsay Whalen was a key contributor to the club, averaging 14.0 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, and 5.4 assists per game. [1]

Contents

Offseason

Expansion draft

The following player was lost in the Atlanta Dream expansion draft:

[2]

WNBA draft

RoundPickPlayerNationalitySchool/Team/Country
19 Amber Holt Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Middle Tennessee
112 (from Indiana) Ketia Swanier Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Connecticut
223 Jolene Anderson Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Wisconsin
337 Lauren Ervin Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Arkansas

[3]

Transactions

[4]

DateTrade
February 19, 2008To Connecticut Sun To Indiana Fever
Tamika Whitmore, Jessica Foley, 12th pick in 2008 Draft Katie Douglas
March 6, 2008To Connecticut Sun To Houston Comets
Barbara Turner Megan Mahoney
March 14, 2008To Connecticut Sun To Minnesota Lynx
Tamika Raymond Kristen Rasmussen

Free agents

Roster

Connecticut Sun roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightFrom
SF 25 Flag of Russia.svg Abrosimova, Svetlana 6' 2" (1.88m)172 lb (78kg) Connecticut
PG 10 Flag of the United States.svg Carey, Jamie 5' 6" (1.68m)135 lb (61kg) Texas
PF Flag of the United States.svg Ervin, Lauren  Cruz Roja.svg (DP)6' 3" (1.91m) Arkansas
SF 41 Flag of the United States.svg Gardin, Kerri 6' 1" (1.85m)165 lb (75kg) Virginia Tech
C 7 Flag of France.svg Gruda, Sandrine 6' 4" (1.93m)185 lb (84kg) France
G/F 1 Flag of the United States.svg Holt, Amber 6' 0" (1.83m)167 lb (76kg) Middle Tennessee State
PF 15 Flag of the United States.svg Jones, Asjha  (C)6' 2" (1.88m)198 lb (90kg) Connecticut
PF 52 Flag of the United States.svg Page, Danielle 6' 2" (1.88m)179 lb (81kg) Nebraska
PG 31 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Phillips, Erin 5' 7" (1.7m)162 lb (73kg) Australia
PF 34 Flag of the United States.svg Raymond, Tamika 6' 2" (1.88m)199 lb (90kg) Connecticut
G/F 42 Flag of the United States.svg Sales, Nykesha  Cruz Roja.svg6' 0" (1.83m)175 lb (79kg) Connecticut
PG 11 Flag of the United States.svg Swanier, Ketia 5' 7" (1.7m)144 lb (65kg) Connecticut
G/F 22 Flag of the United States.svg Turner, Barbara 6' 0" (1.83m)182 lb (83kg) Connecticut
PG 13 Flag of the United States.svg Whalen, Lindsay  (C)5' 9" (1.75m)150 lb (68kg) Minnesota
PF 00 Flag of the United States.svg Whitmore, Tamika 6' 2" (1.88m)190 lb (86kg) Memphis
Head coach
Flag of the United States.svg Mike Thibault (Saint Martin's)
Assistant coaches
Flag of the United States.svg Scott Hawk (Omaha)
Flag of the United States.svg Bernadette Mattox (Georgia)
Athletic trainer
Flag of the United States.svg Jeremy Norman (Keene State)
Strength and conditioning coach
Flag of the United States.svg Jodi Hopkins (Ohio)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured

Season standings

Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Detroit Shock x2212.647–14–38–916–4
Connecticut Sun x2113.6181.013–48–913–7
New York Liberty x1915.5593.011–68–911–9
Indiana Fever x1717.5005.011–66–1112–8
Chicago Sky o1222.35310.08–94–1310–10
Washington Mystics o1024.29412.06–114–136–14
Atlanta Dream o430.11818.01–163–142–18

Schedule

Preseason

2008 Game Log: Preseason
GameDateOpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1May 1@ Minnesota L 57-68 Gardin (8) Gahan, Gardin, Holt (4) Carey, Hairston, Turner (2) Target Center
1,155		0-1
2May 4 Phoenix W 94-66 Holt (15) Gahan (10) Swanier, Berglin (3) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,252		1-1
3May 9 Houston W 88-80 Whalen (18) Anderson (7) Whalen (8) Mohegan Sun Arena
4,411		2-1

Regular season

2008 Game Log: Regular Season
May
GameDateOpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1May 17 Atlanta CSS W 100-67 Whitmore (22) Whitmore (10) Whalen (8) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,420		1-0
2May 18@ New York WCTX
NBA TV 		W 77-63 Whitmore (17) Whalen, Raymond (6) Whalen (8) Madison Square Garden
10,460		2-0
3May 24 Sacramento W 87-64 Whalen (21) Holt (7) Whalen, Whitmore (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,402		3-0
4May 27 Indiana ESPN2 L 46-75 Whalen (11) Jones (7) Whalen (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
5,245		3-1
5May 30 New York MSG
NBA TV 		W 89-84 Whitmore (18) Whalen (6) Whalen (7) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,052		4-1
June
GameDateOpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
6June 1@ Chicago W 75-73 Whalen, Whitmore (19) Whalen (7) Whalen (7) UIC Pavilion
2,276		5-1
7June 6 Minnesota W 78-77 Jones (25) Whalen (9) Anderson, Gardin (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,327		6-1
8June 8 Washington WCTX
NBA TV 		W 87-79 Jones (16) Whalen (7) Whalen (7) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,174		7-1
9June 10@ Minnesota ESPN2 W 75-66 Jones (18) Whitmore (12) Whalen (6) Target Center
7,186		8-1
10June 13@ Los Angeles L 93-98 (OT) Whalen (20) Whalen (7) Jones (3) STAPLES Center
8,702		8-2
11June 16@ Seattle WCTX
NBA TV 		W 74-67 Jones (15) Raymond (9) Whitmore (4) KeyArena
6,872		9-2
12June 18@ Phoenix L 81-102 Jones (18) Turner (5) Whalen (5) US Airways Center
4,478		9-3
13June 20@ Sacramento W 72-56 Jones (14) Whalen, Anderson (6) Whalen (5) ARCO Arena
5,895		10-3
14June 24 Detroit WCTX
NBA TV 		W 85-68 Jones (20) Holt (8) Whalen (6) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,501		11-3
15June 26@ Detroit FSN-D L 61-70 Jones (14) Jones (7) Whalen (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,501		11-4
16June 27 Atlanta W 109-101 (OT) Jones (30) Jones, Whalen (10) Holt (8) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,612		12-4
17June 29 Phoenix L 80-87 Jones (16) Jones (9) Whalen (8) Mohegan Sun Arena
9,518 (sellout)		12-5
July
GameDateOpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
18July 1 Houston W 78-68 Jones (15) Turner (9) Whalen (9) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,357		13-5
19July 5@ Indiana FSN-I
NBA TV 		L 74-81 Jones (20) Gardin (9) Jones, Whalen (3) Conseco Fieldhouse
6,329		13-6
20July 8@ Detroit FSN-D L 82-88 Jones (21) Whalen (7) Jones, Whalen (8) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,623		13-7
21July 13@ Washington ABC L 64-69 Whalen (33) Whalen (8) Jones, Whalen (6) Verizon Center
9,610		13-8
22July 15 New York ESPN2 L 71-77 Whalen (19) Jones (9) Jones (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
8,244		13-9
23July 18@ Chicago WCTX
NBA TV 		L 65-73 Jones (18) Gruda (11) Jones, Swanier (3) UIC Pavilion
3,379		13-10
24July 20 Chicago W 74-67 Jones (23) Jones (10) Whalen (6) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,367		14-10
25July 24 Los Angeles WCTX
NBA TV 		W 87-61 Whalen (22) Jones (8) Whalen (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
9,518 (sellout)		15-10
26July 27@ Washington CSN-MA
NBA TV 		W 82-60 Jones (27) Whalen (8) Whalen (7) Verizon Center
9,357		16-10
August
GameDateOpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
Summer Olympic break
27August 28@ Indiana FSN-I
NBA TV 		W 84-58 Whitmore (15) Turner, Raymond (5) Gruda, Jones (4) Conseco Fieldhouse
6,435		17-10
28August 29@ Atlanta W 98-72 Whitmore (27) Whitmore (6) Whalen (8) Philips Arena
11,442 (sellout)		18-10
29August 31 Seattle ABC W 80-76 Jones (20) Holt (5) Gardin (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
9,518 (sellout)		19-10
September
GameDateOpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
30September 5 Chicago W 80-75 Whitmore (17) Jones (6) Whalen (6) Mohegan Sun Arena
8,088		20-10
31September 7 San Antonio ABC L 73-85 Jones (22) Jones (9) Abrosimova (6) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,956		20-11
32September 9@ Houston WCTX L 68-75 Jones (22) Whalen (8) Whalen (5) Reliant Arena
5,769		20-12
33September 11@ San Antonio L 74-78 Jones (18) Gardin (14) Carey (7) AT&T Center
6,791		20-13
34September 13 Washington WCTX
NBA TV 		W 87-81 Phillips (18) Phillips (8) Gruda, Swanier (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
8,652		21-13

Playoffs

In the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Sun had to face the New York Liberty. Since the Sun had the better record, the series would be played with game 1 at New York, game 2 at Connecticut, and game 3 (if needed) at Connecticut. The Liberty won the first game, but the Sun won the second to force a game three. The Sun were upset on their home floor by the Liberty and were eliminated from the playoffs.

2008 Game Log: Postseason
Eastern Conference Semifinals
GameDateOpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1September 18@ New York MSG
NBA TV 		L 63-72 Whitmore (16) Jones, Whitmore (6) Whalen (6) Madison Square Garden
7,649		0-1
2September 20 New York MSG
NBA TV 		W 73-70 Jones (16) Whitmore (6) Whalen (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,234		1-1
3September 22 New York ESPN2 L 62-66 Whalen (19) Jones (11) Whitmore (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,011		1-2

Depth

Pos.StarterBenchInactive
C Tamika Whitmore Sandrine Gruda Danielle Page
PF Asjha Jones Tamika Raymond
SF Kerri Gardin Barbara Turner -- Amber Holt
SG Svetlana Abrosimova Erin Phillips Ketia Swanier
PG Lindsay Whalen Jamie Carey

Regular Season statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage 3P%  3-point field-goal percentage FT%  Free-throw percentage TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per gameTeam leaderLeague leader

Player statistics

PlayerGPGSMPGRPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Svetlana Abrosimova 6017.83.32.01.330.005.7
Jolene Anderson 24715.32.41.10.290.044.0
Jamie Carey 33315.11.21.40.240.034.2
Kerri Gardin 341515.93.31.20.850.214.0
Sandrine Gruda 31115.43.50.90.610.846.2
Amber Holt 343421.03.11.90.440.156.5
Asjha Jones 333329.26.12.50.610.7917.0
Danielle Page 304.02.00.00.000.002.0
Erin Phillips 8010.82.10.40.500.135.1
Tamika Raymond 34111.02.90.40.290.032.5
Ketia Swanier 2569.21.21.00.560.041.6
Barbara Turner 34619.53.21.50.350.418.0
Lindsay Whalen 313129.35.65.41.450.0314.0
Tamika Whitmore 343326.84.71.40.590.3812.6

Team statistics

TeamFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPFPPG
Connecticut Sun.422.330.74636.417.96.22.814.318.579.1
Opponents.418.321.74035.316.37.43.114.720.774.7

Team Ranking

This table shows how the Sun rank compared to the other teams in the league (14 total teams):

FG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPFPPG
8th8th12th3rd2nd14th12th13th13th3rd

Playoffs statistics

Player statistics

PlayerGPGSMPGRPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Svetlana Abrosimova 3221.03.71.31.330.008.0
Jamie Carey 1000.00.00.00.000.000.0
Kerri Gardin 3319.02.31.01.670.333.7
Sandrine Gruda 308.71.30.30.330.002.7
Amber Holt 3118.34.01.30.330.003.7
Asjha Jones 3332.37.31.30.670.3315.0
Danielle Page 000.00.00.00.000.000.0
Erin Phillips 3012.00.71.71.000.333.0
Tamika Raymond 309.32.30.30.330.331.3
Ketia Swanier 0000.00.00.00.000.000.0
Barbara Turner 3019.03.30.30.000.335.3
Lindsay Whalen 3330.04.74.01.330.0013.3
Tamika Whitmore 3329.04.72.01.330.0010.0

Team statistics

TeamFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPFPPG
Connecticut Sun.360.218.80034.313.77.31.712.315.763.0
New York Liberty.448.433.60633.716.36.75.018.718.769.3

Awards and honors

[5]

Attendance

Regular Season Attendance
YearAverage: HomeAverage: AwayHighLowSelloutsTotal for YearWNBA Game Average
20087,644 (11th)7,132 (14th)9,5185,2453129,9517,948

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References

  1. ↑ Sports Illustrated, October 6, 2008, Inside the WNBA, p.80
  2. ↑ "WNBA.com: Atlanta Dream". Archived from the original on August 20, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  3. ↑ WNBA.com: 2008 WNBA Draft Board Archived 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ WNBA.com: 2008 WNBA Transactions
  5. ↑ "Players of the Week - WNBA.com – Official Site of the WNBA". Wnba.com. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
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