The Connecticut Sun closed the book on 24 years in Uncasville with a 95-81 win over the Toronto Tempo on Thursday night, the franchise's final game in Connecticut before it relocates to Houston and takes on the name of the Comets. The Sun had spent the entire 2026 campaign calling it their “sunset season,” and fans inside Mohegan Sun Arena treated the night as both a celebration and a farewell.
According to the Houston Chronicle, the Sun knew going into the season that it would be their last in Connecticut. Guard Ashlon Jackson hit a 29-foot jumper off a dribble handoff and made three 3-pointers late in the game, helping seal the win. “We played for pride, and we were victorious,” Jackson said, per the same report.
The team's move caps a run that began in 2003, when the Mohegan Tribe purchased the Orlando Miracle and relocated it to Connecticut, making the Sun the first professional sports team owned by a Native American tribe, the Houston Chronicle reports. Based about 24 miles from Storrs, home of UConn, the Sun reached the WNBA Finals four times — in 2004, 2005, 2019 and 2022 — but never won a championship, and this year's team fell out of playoff contention during a rebuild.
A Franchise President With UConn Roots
Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti, 52, attended UConn and won the school's first national championship in 1995, according to the Houston Chronicle. Rizzotti said fans would always be part of the players' future success. Rizzotti and executive Morgan Tuck are both staying with the organization as it moves to Houston, per the same report, though Tuck acknowledged the emotional pull of the moment. “It's hard not to think about the future,” Tuck said.
Guard Charlisse Leger-Walker said she was excited about the move to Houston but wanted to stay present for the final night in Connecticut, the Houston Chronicle reports. Roneeka Hodges, who is a Sun assistant coach and also played in the Houston Comets' 2008 finale, said the Thursday night game would go down in WNBA history.
As our sun sets here in Connecticut, we're grateful to have shared the court with a team whose story is just beginning. — @ConnecticutSun
Fans Say Goodbye From The Stands
Among those in the crowd was 10-year-old Robert Douglas, a season-ticket holder with his family who distributed commemorative tickets to fans, the Houston Chronicle reports. His mother, Stephanie Douglas, said she was sad about the team moving away. Ten-year-old point guard Emily Grynkiewicz, who hopes to play for UConn one day, watched the final game from section 121 and received a keepsake basketball from Sun forward Rayah Marshall, according to the same report.
Houston's Comets Legacy Runs Deep
The Comets name carries real weight in Houston. The original Houston Comets won the WNBA's first four championships and, according to ESPN, remain the only team in league history to capture four titles in five years. That roster featured Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson and Cynthia Cooper, per the Houston Chronicle.
The original Comets folded in December 2008 after owner Les Alexander sold the team to Hilton Koch in 2007, and Koch subsequently handed the franchise back to the league, the Houston Chronicle reports. Their final game came against the Sacramento Monarchs in San Marcos, Texas — moved there because of Hurricane Ike — with Houston winning 90-81 as Hodges scored 14 points.
Houston businessman Tilman Fertitta purchased the Connecticut Sun for $300 million and plans to bring the team to Houston to revive the Comets, according to the Houston Chronicle. Movement toward selling the Sun began in 2025, the outlet reports. A separate report via USA Today, carried by PressReader, indicated Fertitta had begun working to bring the WNBA back to Houston in late 2024, though that timeline comes from a search snippet rather than a fully verified account.
The relocation arrives amid a broader surge in league popularity. WNBA regular-season attendance topped 2.43 million on August 15, 2025. For now, the Sun's final chapter in Connecticut ends with a win, a bittersweet crowd, and a franchise preparing to answer to a new name in a city with championship history of its own.
