This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

UNCASVILLE, CT - JULY 19: Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington (21) shoots a three point shot from beyond the arc during the WNBA game between the New York Liberty and the Connecticut Sun on July 19, 2022, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

UNCASVILLE, CT - JULY 17: Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) boxes out Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas (25) during the WNBA game between the Las Vegas Aces and the Connecticut Sun on July 17, 2022, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

UNCASVILLE, CT - JULY 19: New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) shoots a jump shot during the WNBA game between the New York Liberty and the Connecticut Sun on July 19, 2022, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

UNCASVILLE, CT - JULY 19: New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) elevates for a shot in the paint during the WNBA game between the New York Liberty and the Connecticut Sun on July 19, 2022, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

UNCASVILLE, CT - JULY 19: New York Liberty center Stefanie Dolson (31) shoots a hook shot over Connecticut Sun forward Brionna Jones (42) during the WNBA game between the New York Liberty and the Connecticut Sun on July 19, 2022, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

UNCASVILLE, CT - JULY 19: Connecticut Sun guard Natisha Hiedeman (2) elevates for a layup during a fast break in the WNBA game between the New York Liberty and the Connecticut Sun on July 19, 2022, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

UNCASVILLE, CT - JULY 19: Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas (25) drives to the basket during a fast break during the WNBA game between the New York Liberty and the Connecticut Sun on July 19, 2022, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

UNCASVILLE — Bria Hartley had only been in Connecticut for about 12 hours before she checked into the Connecticut Sun’s game against New York in the final minutes of the first quarter at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Hartley, playing point guard for the Sun, was quick to adjust to her new team and dished out an assist to Alyssa Thomas just 20 seconds later to give the Sun a three-point lead.

The former UConn women’s basketball guard arrived in Uncasville around midnight Monday after the Sun signed her to a rest-of-season contract earlier in the day. On Tuesday, Hartley made her debut with the Sun in its 82-63 win over New York as she returned to the state where she once led the Huskies to two straight national championships and was named an All-American.

“It’s exciting,” Hartley told Hearst Connecticut Media before Tuesday’s game. “Obviously there’s a lot of basketball culture here in Connecticut and being also from UConn, you get a lot of support. It was posted on Instagram and Twitter and it was just like an outpouring of support and that’s really nice to have.”

During the offseason, Hartley, in her ninth season in the WNBA, was traded to Indiana from Phoenix as part of a three-team trade involving the Fever, the Mercury and Chicago. The Sky traded Diamond DeShields to Phoenix along with its 2022 and 2023 first-round picks to Indiana. In return, Phoenix traded Hartley and its 2022 second-round pick to Indiana and its 2023 first-round pick to Chicago. The Fever completed the trade by sending Julie Allemand to Chicago.

Indiana placed Hartley on a partial suspension to start the season since she was late to return following her overseas commitment in Turkey.

Hartley played 10 games for the Fever, averaging 2.5 points, 1.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists in 8.7 minutes per game.

On Friday, she was waived from Indiana as it signed Minnesota’s first-round pick from the 2022 WNBA draft, Rennia Davis.

The next day, Hartley flew from Indianapolis to Long Island to be with her family.

Connecticut Sun coach and general manager Curt Miller knew his team needed a veteran guard presence, especially with longtime point guard Jasmine Thomas still recovering from an ACL injury. To Miller, signing Hartley meant bringing in a mature presence off the bench to help boost his backcourt heading into the homestretch of the season.

“You look around the league, there’s big point guards and at times we don’t match up well with our small point guards and that’s one of the losses that is highlighted with the loss of Jasmine Thomas, she was a bigger point guard,” Miller said. “We gotta be patient but I’m excited about where (Bria) could be in mid-August when we get to the playoffs.”

While the Sun waited for Hartley to clear waivers, she kept herself busy by hitting the gym. Since her car was still being shipped from Indiana to New York, Hartley wasn’t able to make it to the Sun’s practice Monday. Instead, she spent the day working out at the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) headquarters in Manhattan.

It wasn’t until late at night that she was able to drive up to Connecticut. Miller said she got in a little after midnight and the two had a 10-minute meeting to go over the Sun’s scheme terminology in advance of Tuesday’s game.

“There’s low expectations,” he said before Tuesday’s game. “She’s a pro and she knows how to play. She’s been in this league a long time and she knows the common actions, but for her not to make mistakes and for her not to be a deer in headlights at times on ‘Where do I go? What do I do? What’s our philosophy?’ She’s gonna know none of that. So it’s going to be a pickup game for her with nine other people on the court playing structured basketball.”

As the Sun’s general manager, Miller also understands the benefits of having a former UConn player on his roster.

“I mean, obviously the UConn players are revered here,” he said. “A UConn player in this market that performs well is only going to benefit us. A UConn player being able to be out in the community and be involved in community service opportunities, only going to benefit us. At the same time, it does us no good to have a UConn player on our roster just to sit the bench, because then I hear all the noise behind me.”

Hartley said the last time she had been to Connecticut was in early February when she watched UConn defeat Tennessee at the XL Center while she was home on a break from competing overseas. On Monday, UConn’s longtime associate head coach Chris Dailey texted her welcoming her back to the state.

Hartley’s return to the Nutmeg State was made even more special by facing former Huskies teammate and current Liberty center Stefanie Dolson. Dolson finished Tuesday’s game with 12 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes. Fellow former Husky Crystal Dangerfield, also on the Liberty, finished with seven points and three assists in 21 minutes.

“I’m happy for her,” Dolson said. “I think this is a really great spot for her. She’s an amazing player and I’m happy to see that she got picked up by the Connecticut Sun.”

Hartley stepped in for back-up point guard Natisha Hiedeman, who’s been starting instead of Thomas, throughout Tuesday. In the fourth quarter, she was tasked with defending Dangerfield and intercepted a pass from New York’s Sabrina Ionescu with a spin move at halfcourt. Hartley finished her Sun debut with two assists, one rebound and one steal in 12 minutes.

Thomas sat next to Hartley while she was on the bench, offering her new teammate tips and advice.

Bria Hartley (fourth from left on the bench) arrived in CT late last night and didn’t get a chance to practice with the team before today’s game. Jasmine Thomas has been helping to explain the Sun’s plays to Bria on the bench during the game. pic.twitter.com/DAeJOaAbvn

“(I’m) just extremely happy that we have Bria Hartley,” Miller said after the game. “To really have an eight-year pro in this league who’s been through the wars and will compete is just comforting, and it’s going to get better.

“She’s got 10 games to find her footing with us, to understand our terminology, our schemes, our philosophies, so it’s only going to get better, but there’s just a calmness about me when she’s on the floor. I just knew she was gonna get us into things and make good decisions. She has no idea what she’s doing and that’s remarkable. … She’s gonna really help us.”

With one game officially under her belt with her new team, Miller said the priority is to help her get adjusted to the Sun’s system as fast as possible with the final 10 games of the regular season in time for the playoffs.

Hartley will be a free agent following the end of the season. “I told her, it’s also a tryout for the future. Not only for us, but for the league,” Miller said.

“She’s played very limited games in the last two years because of injuries and so this is a little bit of a tryout for her future in this league also. I’m excited that we’re the ones to provide it. She gets to try out for us first and foremost in our culture and how she fits, but it’s a tryout for her for the whole league.”

Hartley’s past few seasons in the league have been limited as she recovers from tearing her ACL in August 2020 while playing for Phoenix during the WNBA’s bubble season in Florida.

She spent over a year recovering from the injury and played just six games of the regular season for the Mercury in 2021. She averaged 2.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 9.6 minutes per game in the Mercury’s WNBA Finals series with Chicago in the fall.

Maggie is a general assignment sports reporter for Hearst CT Media who focuses on highlighting the humanity within athletics with every feature. She comes to Connecticut after growing up and working all along the West Coast, including stops at The Seattle Times and The Orange County Register. Outside of writing, she enjoys spontaneous adventures, reading, hiking and visiting her family back home in Portland, Oregon.