Connecticut Sun rookies shine in their WNBA debuts but team falls to 0-2 with loss to Las Vegas Aces

UNCASVILLE — Saniya Rivers checked out of the game with 55 seconds left on the clock. The Connecticut Sun rookie walked across the court and fell into head coach Rachid Meziane's open arms. The tight embrace was met with a roar of applause from the Mohegan Sun Arena home crowd in what was Rivers' WNBA debut.

The Sun rookie has only known Meziane and the Sun community for the past month and a half, but in that short time, they've become her biggest support system following the sudden passing of her mother, Demetria "Dee" Rivers, on April 30, four days into Connecticut's training camp. Rivers spent about two weeks away from the team, grieving before returning late last week.

On Tuesday, in her first game as a professional basketball player, Rivers scored 11 points with four rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in a team-high 25 minutes.

"I've been trying not to cry like all day," Rivers said, holding back tears, before pausing and taking a deep breath during the team's postgame press conference. Fellow Sun rookie Rayah Marshall leaned over and rubbed Rivers' back as Rivers fell silent trying to find the right words between her fighting tears.

"... This night meant the world to me because this is what she wanted for me. I never thought I'd be here. I wish she was here to see it. But Rachid, the coaching staff, they've been so consistent and understanding and loving, and you'll never meet another staff that's as compassionate, as understanding, as caring, (and) as supporting as them."

Connecticut fell to Las Vegas 87-62 Tuesday night, marking the team's worst start since 2020 and the sixth time in franchise history (including the team’s time as the Orlando Miracle from 1999-2002) that it's started a season 0-2. Prior to the defeat, the Sun hadn't lost a game by more than 20 points since 2023.

Yet, Rivers' stunning league debut, along with Marshall's, softend the blow of the blowout loss. Both rookies made immediate impacts off the bench and made clutch plays on both side of the ball. They played fearlessly against one of the league's best teams against some of the best players to ever pick up the orange and white leather ball.

Behind former UConn women's basketball great Tina Charles' team-high 20 points and five rebounds, Rivers and Marshall followed with the most productive games. Rivers was the only other player with double-digit points, while Marshall finished with a team-best six rebounds, one assist and one block in 10 minutes.

"Rayah did great coming in and playing her minutes hard and, you know, just getting on the boards, just being effective, just imposing her will when she could," Charles said. "And then for Saniya, you know, it's really admirable just because I don't know where I would be if I was in her position, even at this age and this stage in my career. So, just the resilience and the endurance that she's shown forth, there's no reason why we're not able to build off it."

Rivers' first impressive moment came less than a minute into the second quarter. The guard stood in her defensive stance and focused in on the dribble of Chelsea Gray, the Las Vegas Aces’ star point guard.

Gray bounced the ball in front of her just once before Rivers made her move. The rookie reached in and perfectly poked the ball out from Gray’s control. It bounced behind Gray and by the time the six-time All-Star came to a stop and turned around, Rivers had already beaten her to the ball. Rivers sprinted down court and completed the steal-and-score play with a layup, the first made field goal of her WNBA career.

The former N.C. State guard was drafted No. 8 overall by the Sun in April. She moved to Uncasville to begin her first WNBA training camp just a couple weeks later. On the morning of April 30, Rivers took a last-minute flight from Hartford to North Carolina. She made it home just in time to say goodbye to her mom before her passing. The guard stayed home for the following two weeks to be with family and grieve.

"I haven't really been around the team," Rivers said."I didn't have much time to prepare, but I took advantage of the time that I did have, just leaned on my teammates, on my vets, and they really instilled a lot of confidence in me, a lot of knowledge."

Back in Connecticut, her new team supported her from afar as much as they could. Charles reached out every day to check in on Rivers and offer support, telling her, repeatedly, "Things are going to change throughout your career, but I'll forever be your vet. That will never change, and I'm always here for you."

Rivers said Charles' support motivated her to keep going.

"Losing my mom has been the toughest thing I've ever faced in my life, and I'm playing for her," Rivers said. "I came out here to play for her, and I know she's looking over me and protecting me in a different way. ... My mom got the opportunity to meet the staff and the team before she passed, and I think she was able to rest because she knew I was in good hands. And even though it's hard, I think I know that I'm in good hands, and I'm loved, and I'm with the program that will care for me, look over me and help me in any shape or form."

Rivers didn’t play in either of the Sun's two preseason games and returned to Connecticut during the last few days of camp last week. She sat out Sunday’s season opener due to rest as she was still getting her feet back under her from missing so much time on the court.

Meziane said Tuesday that the Sun medical staff put Rivers on a 20-minute restriction for Tuesday's game since she hadn't played in so long. When she checked into Tuesday's game with 3:33 remaining in the first quarter, she immediately got into action. She kept Vegas on its toes with her speed, including blocking Gray down low and scoring her first WNBA points from the foul line.

"Saniya, she showed the team, she showed me, she showed the league, that she can be a great player," Meziane said. 

Marshall also made her WNBA debut Tuesday after not getting into Sunday's season opener. Like, Rivers, Marshall, a former USC forward, played fearlessly and sized up against the Aces’ bigs. She got in the face of former UConn star Kiah Stokes and pressured 2024 WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson hard. On defense, she crashed the glass again and again, boxing out the Aces to get first dibs on the ball. Only two other players had more total rebounds than her (Wilson had a game-high 10 and Stokes had seven).

The former Trojan assisted former Husky Bria Hartley on a wide-open 3-pointer at 2:46 in the opening frame to shorten Vegas’ lead to five before it ballooned to as much as 35 thanks to 22 points from Wilson and 20 from Jewell Loyd.

Delayed start for Aneesah Morrow

The Sun’s third rookie, former LSU star Aneesah Morrow, remains unavailable to due a knee injury. Morrow, the No. 7 pick in April’s WNBA Draft, was a limited participant during training camp and didn’t play in either of the team’s two preseason games. Sun head coach Rachid Meziane said Tuesday that Morrow has yet to play with contact in practice, but hopes she’ll be cleared to play next week.