The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Former UConn guard Hayes’ hot start with Connecticut Sun
UNCASVILLE — Connecticut Sun center Brionna Jones intercepted a Las Vegas pass at the key. She took a single dribble and threw a long pass to Natisha Hiedeman down court.
Hiedeman immediately saw former UConn women’s basketball guard Tiffany Hayes sprinting down to meet her under the Sun’s basket.
She chucked the ball over Kelsey Plum’s head as Hayes caught the pass and threw it up for the bucket while also drawing a foul.
The three-point play got the Sun bench on its feet while Sun star Alyssa Thomas rushed to congratulate Hayes with a grin and a high-five. Someone inside Mohegan Sun Arena yelled, “I love you, Tiffany!”
“The energy that she’s brought since she’s been here has been amazing,” Jones said.
Hayes has fit effortlessly into the Sun’s system this season. After being traded to the Sun this offseason, she’s wasted no time in becoming a key piece in the team’s starting lineup while helping Connecticut stay atop the Eastern Conference standings.
The trade from Atlanta, where she played her first 10 seasons in the WNBA, has brought Hayes back to the state where she became a college star and a two-time national champion with UConn. Now, playing for the Sun, she’s looking to bring that same level of excellence to Uncasville.
“Just kind of coming back home for me, coming to a team that’s a really good team, made it to the Finals,” Hayes said. “Honestly, for me, (it’s) coming to help out a really good team.”
Following the departure of former Sun stars Jonquel Jones and Jasmine Thomas during the offseason, new Sun head coach Stephanie White was tasked with finding the right players to fill in the holes in the starting lineup.
She moved Brionna Jones, the 2022 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year, into Jonquel Jones’ starting spot at center, but still needed another guard.
In February, White found her missing piece. The Sun traded the Dream its No. 6 pick in the 2023 draft for Hayes, knowing she’d bring a boost defensively and in the outside game.
The former Husky averaged 13.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists during her first decade in the league and was named a 2017 All-Star.
“You think about a player like Tiffany Hayes and just she’s been a great player in this league for a long time,” White said. “And for us to be able to get her, you know, the way that we were able to, it just gave me a little bit of a peace just knowing that you had a player who could not just knock down a 3-point shot, but who could get downhill, who could get to the rim, could force rotations, who could get to the foul line and who is also a terrific defender and rebounder from the perimeter position.”
Hayes immediately bonded with the Sun. Despite arriving a few days late to training camp, the players took to Hayes and welcomed her in.
The chemistry was evident within the Sun’s preseason games. Against her former team, Hayes scored a game-high 20 points and finished with five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 24 minutes on May 14.
“I love playing with this whole group and the people who are new,” Hayes said. “It’s just been a great journey so far. I’m very grateful to be here and be able to help.”
Hayes is currently averaging 12.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 26.9 minutes per game for the Sun.
On Tuesday, Connecticut hosted reigning WNBA champs the Las Vegas Aces in a 2022 Finals rematch. Hayes struggled to get her shot to fall in the first quarter and then appeared to step the wrong way early into the second quarter.
She struggled to put weight on her left leg and was ushered off the court by a team trainer. Yet, when she returned to the court to begin the second half, she didn’t miss a beat.
Hayes drove to the basket fearlessly. When she found herself double, sometimes tripled, teamed down low, she knew where to turn to find an open teammate. She pressured the Aces on defense and used her speed to get her teammates open on offense.
While her time with the Sun is only just beginning, Hayes has become just what the Sun needed.
“She’s been everything that I expected,” White said.