Veteran Connecticut Sun star DeWanna Bonner has experienced plenty of big games in intense atmospheres over her 15-year WNBA career, from a championship with the Phoenix Mercury in her rookie season to the Sun’s 2024 sellout opener against the Indiana Fever.But when more than 19,000 fans fill Boston’s TD Garden for a sold-out matchup between the Sun and the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday, the 36-year-old All-Star believes it will be the largest crowd she has ever played in front of.“It’s kind of like a dream come true type of thing, and I’m just happy I get to play in it,” Bonner said. “I can’t believe we’re actually here. You see it on the schedule, and it’s like, okay, that’s so far away. But then when you get here, it’s like, wow. I’m just ready to see all the fans and just make them feel welcome and thank them for coming.”The Sun have long been one of the most successful franchises in the WNBA, but they are also the only team not based out of a major city, operating in Uncasville. But despite playing in the league’s smallest market, Connecticut has also ranked in the top half of the league in home attendance in four of the previous five years (excluding the 2020 season played in the bubble) with an arena capacity of less than 10,000. In partnership with the Boston Celtics, the Sun began exploring a potential game at TD Garden nearly a year and a half ago and dreamed that they might sell out the iconic arena, but Director of Franchise Development Morgan Tuck said it was a huge victory when they officially ran out of tickets.“I think we were all really hoping we got to the sellout, but I don’t know if we thought we would or not,” Tuck said. “It’s brand new market. We’ve never done it before. So I think for us, it makes us feel good that, like, all the planning, all the time, all the effort that we’re doing is paying off. People care, and I think that also shows us that, we’re a part of this momentum for women’s sports. I think it’s just gonna be a cool moment, and I’m glad that the city seems pretty excited about it to have something new, because we’re excited about it”
Sell Out TD Garden ✅
Our game against the @LASparks on August 20 at @tdgarden has officially sold out!! This game will make history as the first @WNBA game to be held at the storied TD Garden. pic.twitter.com/NssuLlGsIL
— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) August 16, 2024 Tuck grew up in the Chicago suburbs, and attending Chicago Sky home games helped shape her love for women’s basketball as a child. Tuck went on to win four consecutive NCAA titles at UConn from 2012-16, and was selected No. 3 in the 2016 WNBA Draft by the Sun. She said said the goal of the game in Boston is to establish the Sun as “New England’s team” even with their home base in small-town Connecticut.“We have people that are in our office that grew up in the Boston area and never heard of the Sun an hour and a half away, and I think that’s a disservice to all the little girls that maybe would want to aspire to be WNBA players,” Tuck said. “I was lucky that I got to grow up watching professional women’s basketball, and I think that’s something that more girls need, whether it’s basketball or soccer, golf, hockey, whatever it is. Having access to it, knowing that it’s there, being able to see people that look like you, that you can grow up to be I think is really big, so I hope that we can inspire many girls throughout (the event).”Sun guard Veronica Burton grew up a huge Celtics fan in Boston, and while her family made the trip down to Uncasville to see a handful of Sun games while she was growing up, Burton said she never imagined herself playing on that historic floor. On the heels of Boston winning an 18th NBA championship just two months ago, Burton expects Tuesday’s game will feel like a full-circle moment.“It means a lot just being able to bring young girls and boys out to watch the WNBA, and just grow the engagement, grow the fans, especially with how big of a sports city Boston is,” Burton said. “I’m not surprised that they sold it out, but I’m grateful, and I think it’ll be really good for the city of Boston, but also for the Sun … it’ll be a surreal feeling just to be able to compete in a place that has so many rings and so many championships and (so many) of the players that I grew up idolizing, and I think Boston will definitely show up.”How to watch Connecticut Sun vs. Los Angeles SparksSite: TD Garden, BostonTeam records: Sun 19-7; Sparks 6-21Time: 7 p.m. ET, TuesdayLast meeting: 79-70, Connecticut; June 18 in UncasvilleTV: NBC Sports Boston (local only)Streaming: WNBA League Pass
Originally Published: August 19, 2024 at 6:18 p.m.
