They didn't start off the season super hot, but the Connecticut Sun have managed to claw their way back into playoff contention.
Despite their 7-9 record, the Sun currently are ranked seventh among WNBA teams. But their record is nothing to sneeze at considering the adversity they faced to get where they are now.
After starting the season 0-5, Connecticut earned seven wins through the next 11 contests. That's good for one of the last slots in the WNBA postseason -- at least, for now.
The Dallas Wings, who are 6-10 as of Monday night, currently own the eighth and final seed, while the Indiana Fever (5-10) and Washington Mystics (4-11) are falling out of the race.
At this point, Connecticut is playoff-bound barring any major slip-ups in the next couple of weeks. The Sun's playoff spot technically isn't promised, though they certainly seem poised to lock up a postseason appearance this season one way or another.
The Sun have just six games left on their regular-season slate, including three this week. But they won't all be easy wins.
The Sun will play the Mercury twice in three days come Week 7. Phoenix (9-7) currently sits in sixth place, making the back-to-back all the more important.
First, however, Connecticut has to get through Week 6, though it shouldn't a difficult task. Outside of Thursday's contest against the third-seeded Las Vegas Aces (12-3), the Sun will play the New York Liberty (2-13) on Tuesday and the Fever on Saturday.
Let the games begin.
Here are some more notes from the Sun's Week 5 action:
-- Stop us if you've hear this before -- Alyssa Thomas stunned this week.
This time, she was recognized for her incredible efforts, with the WNBA on Monday naming her Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Week 5's slate of games.
Thomas averaged 20 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in three games, flirting with a triple-double Sunday against the Mystics. She's the second Sun player to earn the award this year, with DeWanna Bonner doing so in Week 3.
-- Kaila Charles, meanwhile, enjoyed more of her own success this week.
The rookie earned a career-high 16 points in Sunday's win over Washington. At one point, she led all scorers with 12.
-- Sunday's game was eventful in more ways than one for the Sun.
Connecticut and Washington exchanged shot-clock violations to begin each quarter to promote completing the 2020 Census and voter registration ahead of the November election. Check it out:
-- The Sun made a powerful statement Friday after having their Wednesday night matchup against the Mercury postponed in the aftermath of the Jacob Blake shooting.
Connecticut players and coaches took a knee before Friday's loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, each holding a piece of paper bearing one word from a famous Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quote: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”
“It’s disappointing that with all this attention, with all the protests, with all the things that have been going on for the last few months, that this can still happen again,” captain Jasmine Thomas said after the game, via The Athletic’s Charlotte Carroll. “You absolutely feel fed up. You feel like, what else is there? How can you not understand? How can change not happen faster? Why are cops still shooting at people that are defenseless, really? It doesn’t make sense.
“Everyone (on the outside) is not going to be on board. We’re not going to change everyone’s hearts overnight. We might not change some of them at all. But we are using this platform to use our voices and to amplify the voices of those who are in positions to make a bigger influence."
