It’s been a trying year for the Connecticut Sun as they entered the first season of a rebuild. But as the regular season winds down, the Sun’s young core has shown some promise. But the Sun were dealt a tough blow this week when it was revealed that veteran guard Bria Hartley had suffered a knee injury, the team announced.
Bria Hartley sustained the knee injury during Sun practice this past week, and the team announced that she would be sidelined for the remainder of the season. The Sun have six games remaining on their schedule and have already been eliminated from playoff contention.
Hartley had made a strong comeback this season after being out of the WNBA since 2022. She made the Sun roster out of training camp and managed to lock down a starting role. Coincidently, the Sun was the last team that Hartley played for back in 2022.
The No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm, Hartley began her WNBA career with the Washington Mystics after a draft day trade. She played three seasons for the Mystics before being traded to the New York Liberty. Hartley has also played for the Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever in her ten-year WNBA career thus far.
This season, Hartley had appeared in 38 games for the Sun, including 32 starts, at a little over 22 minutes per game. She had been averaging 8.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists with splits of 36.2 percent shooting from the field, 36.7 percent shooting from the three-point line and 77.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The Sun currently hold the third-worst record in the WNBA at 10-29. They do possess a solid young core though consisting of 2025 draft picks Saniya Rivers and Aneesah Morrow, 2024 No. 10 overall pick Leïla Lacan and 2024 No. 6 pick Aaliyah Edwards whom the Sun acquired in a trade with the Mystics at this season’s trade deadline.
