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2003 Connecticut Sun season

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WNBA team season
2003 Connecticut Sun season
CoachMike Thibault
ArenaMohegan Sun Arena
Attendance6,023 per game
Results
Record18–16 (.529)
Place3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finishLost in Eastern Conference Finals
Team Leaders
PointsNykesha Sales (16.1)
ReboundsTaj McW.-Franklin (6.7)
AssistsShannon Johnson (5.8)
← 2002 season 2004 season →

The 2003 WNBA season was their fifth season and their first in Connecticut. The Sun made the playoffs for the first time since 2000. They would sweep the Charlotte Sting in the first round, only to get swept to the eventual champion Detroit Shock in the conference finals.

Offseason

Dispersal Draft

Based on the Sun's 2002 record, they would pick 6th in the Miami Sol/Portland Fire dispersal draft. The Sun selected point guard Debbie Black.

WNBA draft

Round Pick Player Nationality School/team/country
2 13 Courtney Coleman  United States Ohio State
3 34 Lindsay Wilson  United States Iowa State

Transactions

  • September 23: Rebecca Lobo announced her retirement.
  • May 21: The Sun waived Rasheeda Clark and Lindsey Wilson and announced the retirement of Carla McGhee.
  • May 10: The Sun waived Brianne Stepherson.
  • May 7: The Sun waived Natalie Powers.
  • May 1: The Sun waived Davalyn Cunningham.
  • February 14: The Sun traded its second round pick in the 2003 WNBA Draft to the Houston Comets in return for Rebecca Lobo.

Roster

2003 Connecticut Sun roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightFrom
G24United StatesBlack, Debbie5' 3" (1.6m)124 lb (56kg)Saint Joseph's
F15United StatesColeman, Courtney6' 0" (1.83m)170 lb (77kg)Ohio State
G/F32United StatesDouglas, Katie6' 0" (1.83m)165 lb (75kg)Purdue
F/C7United StatesHicks, Jessie6' 4" (1.93m)188 lb (85kg)Maryland
G31United StatesJohnson, Adrienne5' 10" (1.78m)154 lb (70kg)Ohio State
G14United StatesJohnson, Shannon5' 7" (1.7m)152 lb (69kg)South Carolina
F50United StatesLobo, Rebecca6' 4" (1.93m)185 lb (84kg)Connecticut
F/C11United StatesMcWilliams-Franklin, Taj (C)6' 2" (1.88m)184 lb (83kg)St. Edward's College
F3United StatesPalmer-Daniel, Wendy6' 2" (1.88m)165 lb (75kg)Virginia
G/F42United StatesSales, Nykesha (C)6' 0" (1.83m)175 lb (79kg)Connecticut
F21United StatesWyckoff, Brooke6' 1" (1.85m)183 lb (83kg)Florida State
Head coach
United States Mike Thibault (Saint Martin's)
Assistant coaches
United States Scott Hawk (Omaha)
United States Bernadette Mattox (Georgia)
Athletic trainer
United States Jen Brodeur
Strength and conditioning coach
United States Lisa Ciaravella (Lynn)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Season standings

Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Detroit Shock 25 9 .735 – 13–4 12–5 18–6
Charlotte Sting 18 16 .529 7.0 13–4 5–12 12–12
Connecticut Sun 18 16 .529 7.0 10–7 8–9 11–13
Cleveland Rockers 17 17 .500 8.0 11–6 6–11 13–11
Indiana Fever 16 18 .471 9.0 11–6 5–12 12–12
New York Liberty 16 18 .471 9.0 11–6 5–12 11–13
Washington Mystics 9 25 .265 16.0 3–14 6–11 7–17

Schedule

Preseason

Game Date Opponent Result Record
1 May 6 New York L 81-73 0-1
2 May 11 @ Charlotte W 65-64 1-1
3 May 16 Houston L 72-79 1-2

Regular season

Game Date Opponent Result Record
1 May 24 Los Angeles L 73-82 0-1
2 May 30 @ Houston W 91-83 1-1
3 June 1 @ San Antonio W 83-64 2-1
4 June 5 @ Detroit L 89-103 2-2
5 June 7 Houston W 65-58 3-2
6 June 13 Washington W 84-70 4-2
7 June 14 @ Cleveland L 56-84 4-3
8 June 18 Cleveland W 70-57 5-3
9 June 20 @ Indiana L 74-84 5-4
10 June 22 Detroit L 73-82 (OT) 5-5
11 June 24 @ Washington W 65-63 6-5
12 June 26 Indiana L 90-94 (OT) 6-6
13 June 28 @ Charlotte L 55-69 6-7
14 July 1 @ New York L 64-90 6-8
15 July 2 Cleveland W 64-57 7-8
16 July 4 Sacramento W 69-67 8-8
17 July 6 New York W 62-58 9-8
18 July 8 @ Detroit L 50-66 9-9
19 July 10 @ Minnesota L 75-83 9-10
20 July 17 Seattle L 65-67 9-11
21 July 19 @ Phoenix W 75-67 10-11
22 July 20 @ Los Angeles W 76-73 11-11
23 July 23 Minnesota W 84-70 12-11
24 July 26 Charlotte W 74-70 13-11
25 August 1 Washington L 45-48 13-12
26 August 3 Indiana W 66-55 14-12
27 August 5 Detroit L 61-78 14-13
28 August 9 @ Charlotte L 68-69 14-14
29 August 12 New York L 73-74 14-15
30 August 16 @ New York W 84-71 15-15
31 August 19 @ Cleveland L 52-69 15-16
32 August 22 Charlotte W 63-55 16-16
33 August 23 @ Washington W 74-67 17-16
34 August 25 @ Indiana W 72-62 18-16

Playoffs

In the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Sun had to face the Charlotte Sting. Since the Sting had the better record, the series would be played with game 1 at Connecticut, game 2 at Charlotte, and game 3 (if needed) at Charlotte. The Sun swept the Sting and advanced to the second round. In the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Sun had to face the Detroit Shock. Since the Shock had the better record, the series would be played with game 1 at Connecticut and games 2 and 3 (if needed) at Detroit. The Shock swept the Sun and game 3 was not needed.

Game Date Opponent Result Record Game Type
1 August 28 Charlotte W 68-66 1-0 Eastern Conf. Semi-Finals, Game 1
2 August 30 @ Charlotte W 68-62 2-0 Eastern Conf. Semi-Finals, Game 2
3 September 5 Detroit L 63-73 2-1 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 1
4 September 7 @ Detroit L 73-79 2-2 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 2

Depth

Pos. Starter Bench Inactive
C Taj McWilliams-Franklin Jessie Hicks
PF Brooke Wyckoff Wendy Palmer -- Rebecca Lobo
SF Katie Douglas Courtney Coleman
SG Nykesha Sales Adrienne Johnson
PG Shannon Johnson Debbie Black

Player stats

Awards and honors

References

  1. WNBA.com: 2003 WNBA Draft Board
  2. WNBA.com: 2003 WNBA Transactions

External links

Connecticut Sun
Franchise
Arenas
Head coaches
Administration
All-Stars
Seasons
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Conference titles /
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Media
2003 WNBA season by team
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