2006 Connecticut Sun season

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

WNBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
2	28	Debbie Merrill	United States	Ohio State
3	42	Marita Payne	United States	Auburn

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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.

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Roster

Connecticut Sun roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From 1.5 !G 10 USA ! Carey, Jamie 7000167640000000000♠5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 135 lb (61 kg) Texas 4.0 !F 22 USA ! Brungo, Jessica 7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Penn State 2.5 !G/F 32 USA ! Douglas, Katie (C) 7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Purdue 6.0 !C 12 Poland ! Dydek, Margo 7000218440000000000♠7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Poland 2.5 !G/F 21 USA ! Hairston, Kamesha 7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 146 lb (66 kg) Temple 4.0 !F 15 USA ! Jones, Asjha 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Connecticut 2.5 !G/F 24 USA ! Mahoney, Megan 7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Kansas State 5.5 !F/C 11 USA ! McWilliams-Franklin, Taj 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) St. Edward's College 1.5 !G 31 Australia ! Phillips, Erin 7000170180000000000♠5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 162 lb (73 kg) Australia 4.0 !F 2 USA ! Queenan, Brooke 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Boston 2.5 !G/F 42 USA ! Sales, Nykesha (C) 7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Connecticut 6.0 !C 14 Australia ! Summerton, Laura 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 167 lb (76 kg) Australia 1.5 !G 13 USA ! Whalen, Lindsay 7000172720000000000♠5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Minnesota 4.0 !F 43 USA ! Willingham, Le'Coe 7000182880000000000♠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

Schedule

Preseason

Regular season

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.

Depth

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.

References

External links