Former UConn star coming back to Connecticut
Former UConn women’s basketball star Moriah Jefferson is coming home after the Connecticut Sun traded Rebecca Allen to the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday in exchange for the veteran guard.
Jefferson played alongside Huskies legend Breanna Stewart during the program’s iconic run of four consecutive NCAA championships from 2012-16.
The 5-foot-6 point guard was a first-team All-American in 2016 after earning second-team honors in 2015. She won the Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation’s best point guard both seasons and still holds UConn’s record for career assists with 659, though senior Nika Muhl needs just 90 more to surpass her.
“We are overjoyed to welcome Moriah back to the Connecticut community and the Sun organization,” Sun general manager Darius Taylor said in a news release. “She will have an immediate impact on the court and in the locker room.”
Jefferson was selected as the second overall pick behind Stewart in the 2016 WNBA draft by the San Antonio Stars, who have since relocated and rebranded as the Las Vegas Aces. She was named to the all-rookie team in her first season but grappled with knee injuries that limited her playing time in 2017 and ’18.
Jefferson was traded to the Dallas Wings in 2019 but sat out nearly all of the 2019 and ’20 seasons because of injuries. After she was waived by the Wings in 2022, Jefferson spent that season with the Minnesota Lynx and signed with the Mercury as a free agent in 2023. She averaged 10.5 points, shooting 43.3% from the field and 35.2% from 3-point range. She also logged 3.6 assists and two rebounds per game.
Allen, also an eight-year WNBA veteran, played her lone season in Connecticut in 2023 after spending the previous seven with the New York Liberty.
She averaged six points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, helping the Sun to the second round of the playoffs under first-year head coach Stephanie White.