2008 Connecticut Sun season

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]

Offseason

Expansion Draft

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

• Erika DeSouza

^[2]

WNBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	9	Amber Holt	United States	Middle Tennessee
1	12 (from Indiana)	Ketia Swanier	United States	Connecticut
2	23	Jolene Anderson	United States	Wisconsin
3	37	Lauren Ervin	United States	Arkansas

^[3]

Transactions

• August 27: The Sun signed Svetlana Abrosimova and waived Jolene Anderson.
• June 27: The Sun waived Kamesha Hairston.
• May 15: The Sun waived Cori Chambers.
• May 7: The Sun waived Jessica Foley, Tracy Gahan and Christina Quaye.
• May 6: The Sun waived Meredith Alexis and Natalie Berglin.
• April 28: The Sun waived Crystal Erwin, Laura Hall and Jessica Richter.
• April 23: The Sun waived Antoinette Upshaw.
• March 20: The Sun signed Tracy Gahan to a training camp contract.
• March 7: The Sun signed Sandrine Gruda.
• March 5: The Sun signed Jessica Foley to a training camp contract.
• March 3: The Sun signed Natalie Berglin and Kerri Gardin to training camp contracts.
• February 19: The Sun re-signed free agents Lindsay Whalen and Jamie Carey.

^[4]

Free agents

Roster

Connecticut Sun roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From 3.0 !SF 25 RUS ! Abrosimova, Svetlana 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Connecticut 1.0 !PG 10 USA ! Carey, Jamie 7000167640000000000♠5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 135 lb (61 kg) Texas 4.5 !PF USA ! Ervin, Lauren  (DP) 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Arkansas 3.0 !SF 41 USA ! Gardin, Kerri 7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Virginia Tech 6.0 !C 7 FRA ! Gruda, Sandrine 7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) France 2.5 !G/F 1 USA ! Holt, Amber 7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 167 lb (76 kg) Middle Tennessee State 4.5 !PF 15 USA ! Jones, Asjha (C) 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Connecticut 4.5 !PF 52 USA ! Page, Danielle 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 179 lb (81 kg) Nebraska 1.0 !PG 31 AUS ! Phillips, Erin 7000170180000000000♠5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 162 lb (73 kg) Australia 4.5 !PF 34 USA ! Raymond, Tamika 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 199 lb (90 kg) Connecticut 2.5 !G/F 42 USA ! Sales, Nykesha  7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Connecticut 1.0 !PG 11 USA ! Swanier, Ketia 7000170180000000000♠5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 144 lb (65 kg) Connecticut 2.5 !G/F 22 USA ! Turner, Barbara 7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Connecticut 1.0 !PG 13 USA ! Whalen, Lindsay (C) 7000175260000000000♠5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Minnesota 4.5 !PF 00 USA ! Whitmore, Tamika 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Memphis	Head coach Mike Thibault (St. Martin's University) Assistant coaches Scott Hawk (Nebraska-Omaha) Bernadette Mattox (Georgia) Athletic trainer Jeremy Norman (Keene State College) Strength and conditioning coach Jodi Hopkins (Ohio) 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 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.

• For the sixth consecutive season, the Sun advance to the playoffs.
• For the second consecutive season, the Sun do not advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Depth

Regular Season statistics

Player statistics

Team statistics

Team Ranking

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

Playoffs statistics

Player statistics

Team statistics

Awards and honors

• Head Coach Mike Thibault was named 2008 WNBA Coach of the Year.
• Lindsay Whalen was named to the All-WNBA First Team.
• Asjha Jones was named to the All-WNBA Second Team.
• Amber Holt was named to the All-Rookie Team.
• Lindsay Whalen was given the Peak Performer award (for assists) for leading the league in assists per game (5.4).
• Lindsay Whalen was the second player in WNBA history to average at least 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game for the season. Only Nikki Teasley has previously accomplished this feat.
• Lindsay Whalen was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of May 27, 2008.
• Asjha Jones was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of June 30, 2008.
• Lindsay Whalen was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of July 14, 2008.
• Asjha Jones was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of July 28, 2008.

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Attendance

• A sellout for a basketball game at Mohegan Sun Arena is 9,518.

References

External links