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Stephanie White and the Connecticut Sun saw their season come to an end on Tuesday, as they lost the decisive Game 5 of their semifinal series against the hot-shooting Minnesota Lynx on the road 88-77. The loss ends Connecticut's season just one round short of the WNBA Finals for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
The result certainly wasn't what White and the Sun had hoped for after scrapping through a must-win Game 4, and now the Sun will head home early. The Lynx move on to the WNBA Finals to take on the New York Liberty, who have had the best record in the league through the entirety of the season. After Game 5, White gave her take on what she thinks will be a very tight battle for the championship, according to Mitchell Hansen of Winsidr.
“I think it's gonna be a fun series,” White said, per Hansen. “Minnesota has been able to give New York some problems. … I'm excited, I think it's going to go the length and go five games. I think it will be a great series.”
The Lynx took the season series over the Liberty 3-1, and will look to take that matchup advantage into the finals against the best team in the WNBA that is hungry for a championship after losing in the finals last season.
What Sun need to get over the hump next season
The first priority for the Sun has to be retaining their own free agents, which will be no easy task. Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, Brionna Jones and DiJonai Carrington (restricted) are all free agents, and it will be difficult to bring them all back.
Keeping Thomas is obviously a must if the Sun want to stay in championship contention, and Bonner likely needs to stick around as well. Carrington will be due for more money after being named the WNBA Most Improved Player this season, and Jones gives them some extra size in the middle, and should be back to full strength in 2025 after spending a lot of 2024 shaking off the rust from her torn Achilles.
Marina Mabrey, who was phenomenal both off the bench and as a starter for the Sun, is back and probably needs to take the next step as Connecticut's best perimeter scorer. However, the Sun need to add one more scoring threat in order to compete for a championship. Thomas isn't a natural scorer, and Bonner's production has taken a hit as she has gotten older. They need another option who can truly carry them offensively for stretches like Mabrey did in these playoffs.
As long as this core is intact, the Sun will never lose their identity of grit and defensive intensity, but that has shown that it's not enough to get them over the hump in the playoffs. Another scorer along with this core could form a very dangerous group that can make some noise next season.
