The Connecticut Sun closed the book on 24 years of WNBA basketball in the state on Thursday night, beating the Toronto Tempo 95-81 in the franchise's final home game before its long-planned move to Houston. Ashlon Jackson scored 18 points off the bench, Raegan Beers added 17 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, and Hailey Van Lith turned in a near triple-double with 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as Connecticut pulled away behind a 31-21 third-quarter run in front of a crowd of more than 8,000 at Mohegan Sun Arena. Toronto rookie Kiki Rice led all scorers with 28 points in a losing effort.

The win closed out an 11-33 season that left the Sun sixth in the Eastern Conference and out of the playoffs, but the final score mattered less than the occasion. It was the last time the franchise will play a home game in Connecticut, ending a run that began in 2003, when the Mohegan Tribe bought the Orlando Miracle and moved the team to Uncasville, becoming the first non-NBA entity to own a WNBA franchise. Over 24 seasons the Sun made four WNBA Finals appearances — in 2004, 2005, 2019 and 2022 — and never won a title, one of the longer championship droughts among teams that reached the finals that often.

A sale, and a fight over where the team would land

The relocation follows the Mohegan Tribe's decision to sell the franchise to Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta for $300 million, a deal the WNBA and NBA boards of governors unanimously approved despite a competing $325 million offer from a group led by Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca that would have kept the team in New England by moving it to Boston. League officials made clear that relocation decisions rest with the WNBA Board of Governors rather than individual ownership groups, clearing the way for Fertitta's bid to prevail even though it wasn't the higher offer. Starting with the 2027 season, the team will play at Toyota Center and revive the Houston Comets name — the brand that won the league's first four championships, from 1997 through 2000, before the original Comets folded in 2008.

"You've proved that Connecticut deserves a WNBA team," Sun team president Jennifer Rizzotti told the crowd after the final buzzer, according to a Yahoo Sports report from the arena.

For a league adding franchises and chasing record valuations, the fight over where the Sun would land underscored how much a WNBA team is now worth fighting over. For Connecticut, it closes a run that included stars like Jonquel Jones and years of playoff-caliber basketball, even if a championship never arrived.

What happens next plays out on two fronts. The WNBA playoffs continue without Connecticut for the first time in several years, with seeding now locked in around the league. In Houston, Fertitta's front office turns to hiring staff, building a roster and preparing Toyota Center for a 2027 debut under the Comets name — with this current Sun roster and any offseason moves shaping what that first Houston team looks like.