The player spotlight appropriately shifted to UConn alumna Aaliyah Edwards on the night the Connecticut Sun said goodbye.
UNCASVILLE—For perhaps the first time in her career, the basketball goddesses were willing to call a play for Connecticut Sun forward Aaliyah Edwards.
Edwards took centerstage in the Sun's sendoff on Thursday, scoring 16 points in a 95-81 win over the Toronto Tempo at Mohegan Sun Arena. It was the last stand of a Sun squad that's moving to Houston next season after a controversial sale ended a 24-year residency at the renowned resort/casino.
Some of the final verses in this bittersweet ballad were appropriately penned by Edwards, the last of seemingly countless University of Connecticut alumnae to take their talents from Storrs to Uncasville. That list that also includes current NBA front office rep Asjah Jones, 2012 WNBA MVP Tina Charles, and all-time leading Sun scorer Nykesha Sales.
The Last ... and First? ... Dance
In a broad sense, Thursday's game was a blip on the WNBA radar beyond its sense of finality: both Connecticut and Toronto were well-removed from the playoff picture and simply served as one last voyage of the damned for two teams set for pricey renovations.
Such a script, however, was the perfect starring vehicle for Edwards, who has endured frequent injury interruptions on her professional path, which includes a runner-up finish in Unrivaled's one-on-one tournament. The Washington Mystics moved on from Edwards in less than two seasons, sending her back to her stateside home in a trade at the 2025 deadline.
"I am so passionate and competitive about this game that I hate to be sidelined," Edwards said of her progressive evolution as an athlete after Thursday's win. "So for someone to tell me to sit down is very hard for me. But I did watch and became more of a student of the game and I was able to lead from a different lens, which really strengthened my leadership skills. So I'm grateful for that."
Best For Last
Facing a team from her native Ontario, Edwards' early efforts softened a bittersweet affair by earning 14 of her tallies in the first half to the tune of sizable cheers from the Constitution State faithful.
That countered the opposing outputs of Isabelle Harrison and Kiki Rice on the other end before letting young Sun subs like Nell Angloma, Raegan Beers, Gianna Kneepkens, Ashlon Jackson, and Hailey Van Lith bask in the closing spotlight. Edwards, the most experienced Sun player that partook in the finale beyond fourth-year Diamond Miller, also carries the honor of winning the last opening tip at Mohegan Sun Arena, defending the Sun's midcourt emblem from Harrison was the last dance started.
"I'm proud of myself, proud of just being resilient and everything," Edwards said. "I know that we've got some great vets, but we're predominantly young, and they took on a lot. [Jackson's] story is different from like [Charlisse Ledger-Walker] or from Reagan or from [Kneepkens]. It was a lot of pressure on them, so I am proud of them because it's not easy to take on that load in a short period of time."
Bright Bookends
In the brilliant final footnote of this serendipitous send-off, Edwards lived up to her reputation as the most prominent bit of UConn representation on the floor.
Three years after something of a breakout showcase inches away from the casino floor (an MVP effort in Uncasville's 2023 Big East Tournament), Edwards moved things full circle by allowing the Sun (11-33) to close its ledgers on something of a high note.
"Mohegan Sun Arena is so near and dear to my heart, and some of these fans have been following me since freshman year," Edwards noted. "I've seen all [the local media] since freshman year, so it's just a lot of feels for me because of knowing that it's the last time we're getting to see each other consistently. I didn't think the waterworks would hit me until the locker room, but it snuck up on me. I was dead wrong, but it was just a great moment to be out there with with my teammates and the staff."
The Final 50
Things got particularly misty when Sun head coach Rachid Meziane put de facto vets Edwards, Lacan, and Miller back on the floor for the final 50 seconds of the Sun timeline. When midnight finally struck, the trio, alongside Jackson and Leger-Walker, abandoned the game ball and shared a group hug at mid-court, joined shortly by their teammates.
The soundtrack provided by grateful fans led Sun president and another UConn alumna, Jen Rizzotti, to firmly declare that Connecticut "deserved" a WNBA team in a poignant postgame address.
"I had to do a post-game interview and I'm starting to cry. I'm trying to collect my words, I see [Griner] in the corner of my eye, running with the [Sun logo] flag, I'm like, what's happening right now?" Edwards recalled of the last stand, balancing understandable emotion with joy. "For me personally, it just hits harder for me because I spent so much time playing basketball here, whether that be pro or even back to college."
Symbol of Might to the Foe(s)
With numerous Connecticut sitting out due to injury (including fellow former Storrs dweller Olivia Nelson-Ododa), Thursday provided the perfect opportunity for Edwards to take on a larger role with somewhat sizable implications on the line.
With the Sun set to morph into a rebooted version of the Houston Comets, she's set to stand as one of the early headlining successors to Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson since million-dollar additions Kennedy Burke and Brittney Griner are set to hit the free agency front.
Partaking in 30 games in her first (and only) full season with the Sun, the sixth pick from the 2024 draft put up career-best shooting numbers to the tune of 11.1 points and 51.8% from the field (10th-best among women shooting at least eight a game).
“This is the basketball capital of the world! Don’t ever forget.”
—Aaliyah Edwards following the Connecticut Sun’s final game in the Nutmeg State pic.twitter.com/lAQu2Tf5gO
— Huskies In The Pros (@HuskyPros) September 25, 2026
Sun Never Sets
Edwards' first taste as a relative top option (brought about by Griner's injuries and a late entry for Leila Lacan) was further supported by her rise as a young veteran leader, ones that allowed her to strides as both an athlete and a human being and ensure that the Sun's impact would be felt beyond the casino floor.
Such veteran impact was certainly recognized by her postgame podium companion Jackson, who usurped Edwards as the game's leading scorer with 18 off the bench, a dozen alone over the Sun's last ten minutes. Jackson frequently interrupted Edwards with the recitation of inside jokes that created an unexpectedly comforting Connecticut coda.
"As a human, I think I became comfortable with being uncomfortable," Edwards noted further. "This was a tough season, not only with the record, but knowing that it's the end, and also knowing that you're a part of a legacy. That's a lot to hold on your shoulders, it's a lot of responsibility and accountability. As a human, just balancing that, but also having fun and having joy in the pursuit of success, having joy in the pursuit of being that impact player, being that impact teammate, being a part of that impactful organization [is huge]."
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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