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CT Sun win final game, defeating Toronto and giving fans a parting gift
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- CT Sun win final game, defeating Toronto and giving fans a parting gift
UNCASVILLE — Once the game began, the 8,000-plus fans i n Mohegan Sun Arena acted, if one didn't know better, as if they were in denial.
There was all the usual cheering and chanting and badgering of the refs in all the usual places, as if the Connecticut Sun were playing a regular-season game with playoff implications, as it so often has in its history, rather than as a team trying to avoid the WNBA's cellar i n its last game … ever.
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The Sun, who now begin the process of relocating to Houston for next season, gave their loyal, vociferous and orange-clad fans a goodbye present, a 95-81 victory over the Toronto Tempo , just a little something to remember them by.
Connecticut Sun fans sad, upset, as WNBA team plays last game at Mohegan Sun
Ashlon Jackson scored 18 points, with a number of threes down the stretch to put the game away. Jackson, in fact, had the distinction of scoring the final points in franchise history.
Raegan Beers scored 17 points and former UConn standout Aaliyah Edwards 16 to lead the Sun (11-33). With time running out, a few fans behind the bench began chanting "Thank you" to various players on the bench, one of the first signs the harsh reality was setting in.
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The pregame ceremonies featured "Fan Appreciation Night," something teams usually do for the final home game every year, but since this was the final home game EVER, it took on a different meaning.
Edwards scored six early points as the Sun took a lead into the second quarter as the crowd settled into the seats, filling all but a handful. Toronto, with Kiki Rice and Isabelle Harrington combining for 21 of the team's first 28 points, pulled even midway through the second quarter.
Edwards, having one of her best games, was up to 14 points at the half, the Sun leading 38-36. The Sun opened up a modest lead late in the third quarter, then Gianna Kneepkins got the hot hand and, after her steal and score, the Sun led 62-52, then Ashlon Jackson's 3-pointer gave Connecticut a 15-point lead, and they held on to the finish.
