THE SUN SETS IN UNCASVILLE

After a months long journey, the Connecticut Sun have been sold.

On March 27, Paper City Magazine reported that the Sun have been sold to the Fertitta family. ESPN’s Alexa Phillippou reported that the team was sold for $300 million, however the current Sun ownership will apparently not receive relocation fees.

If the name Fertitta sounds familiar, you might recognize them as the owners of the NBA’s Houston Rockets. And this ownership will be moving the Sun from Uncasville to Houston starting in 2027. The sale signifies the end of the Sun’s history and rebirth of the Houston Comets.

For fans in Houston, this moment calls for celebration as the WNBA’s original dynasty returns. For the basketball community in the New England, it’s a moment of sadness, disappointment, and frustration.

"I think the people at Mohegan Sun, I think they stepped up when they were needed and brought a team to Connecticut as Connecticut deserves to have a team, because we're a proven basketball, women's basketball (fanbase), you know, where people will support women's basketball," UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. "So them now moving, yeah, I think it leaves, a void.”

If the WNBA and NBA offices have their way, that void will be filled by Boston during the next round of expansions. From Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal:

“Boston obviously has an NBA arena, too, but sources said the WNBA was willing to pass on them in the near team with the expectation the city would be in line for an expansion team in the early 2030s — when, by then, W franchises could sell for $400M to $500M.”

Throughout the process, the league office has deterred Boston based owners from buying the Sun and moving them to a new city. As we’ve discussed here at the Women’s Basketball Roundup, NBA owners get priority treatment when it comes to acquiring WNBA franchises, and this move is the latest in a long trend.

Sun fans are left with an awkward and uncomfortable situation as they watch their team for the final time in 2026. There will be games in Hartford, CT and Boston this year, and the atmosphere promises to be emotional. For Cathy Engelbert and the league office, the atmosphere will be… well it’ll be something!

The WNBA should have handled this situation better. Connecticut was a strong market when others abandoned the league. Their contributions helped the league stay afloat even during tough times. However, the lure of an original city and NBA dollars made the Sun a non-starter for this era of the WNBA.

As Houston returns to the league, we should take a moment to appreciate what Connecticut did and challenge leadership in the WNBA and NBA to be better.

Here’s what you need to know today:

🏀 From Sweet to Elite
Who’s heading to the Final Four in Phoenix?

🎙 Across the BRM Network
The “Gotta Get Up” podcast is back and there’s a lot to cover

💰 Site issues
The NCAA’s new format is still causing trouble.

The Tournament continues to deliver amazing moments

We are down to Four.

The Elite Eight tipped off on March 29 with Connecticut taking on Notre Dame. It’s been over a year since UConn last lost a game and they are looking to simultaneously go back-to-back and undefeated. Led by the amazing Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame has been on a terrific run throughout the Tournament.

The Fighting Irish made things tough on the All-American duo of Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd. Fudd only scored 13 points and tied a season high with five turnovers. Strong shot under 50 percent from the field for the first time since a UConn victory over Marquette on Valentine’s Day.

However, Blanca Quiñonez had the best game of her career with 20 points off the bench and although she only scored four points, Jana El Alfy’s four offensive rebounds in the third quarter helped keep Notre Dame. From there, the Huskies were able to keep the Fighting Irish at bay as the game wound down to the finish line.

The win secured UConn’s 25th appearance in the Final Four, the most in NCAA history. UConn has bigger goals at this stage of the game, but an accomplishment like this is certainly worth appreciating.

Later on Sunday, 1 seed UCLA faced their biggest test of the season. Duke’s resurgence has been one of the biggest stories of the women’s basketball season and Kara Lawson’s club was riding high following a miraculous buzzer-beater by Ashlon Jackson against 2 seed LSU in the Sweet 16

In the Elite Eight, Duke got off to a tremendous start and led by double-digits for much of the game. However, UCLA’s experience and perseverance shined the deeper this game went. Angela Dugalic powered Cori Close’s team off the bench as her 15/6/4/2 got the Bruins back in the game and helped slow Duke down.

After intermission, the Bruins outscored the Blue Devils 39-19 after halftime and punched their ticket to their second consecutive Final Four.

For Close and UCLA, they set a school record for victories in a season with 35. They’ve also won 29 games in a row and their only loss this season was to Texas in the Players’ Era Championship final.

On Monday night, the other number one seeds took the stage. In the first matchup, Michigan looked to make it to the first Final Four in school history. However, they were overmatched by an experienced Texas club that was the number one seed in their bracket. Texas took control early, never trailed, and held Michigan to a season low in points. Put it all together, and you’ve got yourself a resounding win for the Longhorns.

And in the nightcap, TCU tried to do the impossible. Led by likely WNBA lottery pick Olivia Miles, the Horned Frogs jumped out to an early lead and gave South Carolina all that it could handle. As the game progressed, the Gamecocks’ depth and perseverance shined through. Powered by a superstar caliber performance from Joyce Edwards, the Gamecocks went on a 14-0 run to begin the fourth quarter and put the game out of reach.

It’s an all chalk Final Four, but also a repeat of last year’s Final Four as these four teams made it here in 2025.

Now that the best teams are left standing, we’re in for a special weekend. Whether it’s UConn looking to go back-to-back, South Carolina looking to get revenge for last year’s championship loss, Texas trying to reach the Final for the first time since 1986, or UCLA trying to reach their first NCAA Tournament final, there is a lot of history at stake. We’re in store for great basketball this weekend.

GEARING UP FOR A SPRINT

The women’s basketball calendar is packed beyond belief. Here are some of the events that are set to occur in April:

*NOTE: These are the last dates reported, but the league has not confirmed the free agency window.

Whew!

It’s a lot to handle all at once, and on the Season 4 premiere of Gotta Get Up, Erica L. Ayala and I bounced around the women’s sports landscape

From Phoenix to New York and everywhere in between, we’ll have you covered here at Black Rosie Media!

SITE ISSUES, PART II

In Issue 023 of the Women’s Basketball Roundup, we discussed the issue players and coaches have had with the NCAA’s decision to split the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight into two regionals instead of the four regionals that their peers on the men’s side have. It was a point of contention then, and it remains a point of contention this year.

This year’s regionals were in Sacramento, CA and Fort Worth, TX. Having two sites made it difficult for teams to get practice time on the court and the rest necessary to compete at their best.

The NCAA has decided that it will maintain the two site format until at least 2031. Safe to say, this decision has not been well received.

“Total attendance yesterday at both places - 18,000,” Geno Auriemma said at media availability on March 28. “If we had four regions, and you got a minimum 5,000 people… I think that comes out to 20,000. So, what are we doing here? Do you know when the last time they had a regional in the northeast?

“Probably because we were a No. 2 seed, and NC State was a 1-seed, and we had to play in Bridgeport. So, there will be no more regionals north of, I don’t know, I guess there’s one in Philly coming up. That’s just a personal pet peeve, because we’ve gone to the Final Four no matter where the regional was.”

The NCAA frequently drops the ball. We’ve seen them make basic errors and have to be shamed into providing the bare minimum for women’s basketball. This situation with the regional sites is another in a long, frustrating tradition.

Players and coaches have to always overcome their circumstances, but they shouldn’t have to.

As women’s sports continues to gain prominence, it’s up to powerful institutions like the NCAA to do better and provide real support for players and coaches.

At Black Rosie Media, we love to give flowers to other writers and creators in the women’s basketball community.

Here’s what we’re reading:

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