UNCASVILLE, Conn. — The Connecticut Sun moved into a new era in the offseason. Part of the plan required gutting its starting five from a year ago.
One of the pieces still on the roster from the team that came within a game of the WNBA Finals was Marina Mabrey — and looking at all the changes the Sun made, even she asked for a trade.
Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti made it clear that they had no plans to move her — even as her agent pushed for it.
Ultimately, Connecticut’s front office was able to reassure Mabrey that their plan was not just to build for the future, but build around her.
When the new-look Sun stepped on the floor Sunday for their season opener against the Washington Mystics, Mabrey experienced the full weight of being the focal point in a 90-85 loss at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Sun were down, 88-85, with 25.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter after leading by as many as 15.
Mabrey was having a poor shooting game from the floor, and as hard as it was for her to get a bucket to drop, she was who the Sun went to with the game on the line.
The Mystics (2-0) knew the ball was going to Mabrey, but Sun first-year coach Rachid Meziane drew a play with options to get her open. She came off a double screen on the weak side to set the front end of a double screen on the ball, then rolled into another double screen that finally got her a narrow window to receive a pass from Bria Hartley.
She tried to create space from Mystics rookie Sonia Citron, but couldn’t get unglued, so she pitched the ball to Tina Charles, then got it back on a handoff. Another screen from Charles gave Mabrey enough room to fire a 3-pointer, but that front rimmed.
It’s a position Charles has been in before as the league’s No. 2 all-time leading scorer, and something Mabrey will have to get used to.
“Everyone’s going to zone in on Marina,’’ said Charles, who had 23 points and 10 rebounds. “I think what this team had reflected and the options that were here in the past are no longer here. So I think there’s going to be a lot of eyes on Marina. So you just have to stay with it, work harder to get open. I’ll have to look at how I need to set better screens just to get her open. But we got the shot. She missed it, but I know she’s going to get the next one.’’
Mabrey finished with 11 points, going 5 for 21 from the field, including 1 of 8 on 3-pointers.
For years, the Sun were anchored by Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner, the locker room leaders when the Sun traded for Mabrey last year. For the first time in Mabrey’s career, the offense will run through her.
“Marina, she did what we expect from her,’’ Meziane said. “We want her to get a shot like that at the end of the game. It was not a good game for her — 5 for 21. She has to learn to be patient. But they did [play] great defense on her. They forced her to force some shots and to change, a little bit, her game. As a team we have to help her to find good opportunities to score, to find some open shots. But for me, she’s one of our leaders, so she has to take this responsibility.’’
The Sun want to remain competitive while also retooling. Accustomed to the sustained success of eight straight playoff appearances, the crowd of 7,834 was on par with their home opener a year ago against the Indian Fever (8,910) and the year before (7,048) — even as the Mohegan Tribe explores the possibility of selling the team.
The news capped an offseason signified by changes that were so frequent and so sudden that they were hard to keep up with.
At the Mohegan Sun casino entrance, fans were welcomed to a new season by the usual signage showcasing the team’s stars. The Sun’s wall-sized banner featured Mabrey, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Tina Charles, and Diamond DeShields.
One problem.
DeShields wasn’t on the roster after being waived days before the season opener.
The Sun started their next phase with 11 new faces. Despite the season-opening loss, Meziane took the long view.
“I’m optimistic,’’ Meziane said. “We already know it will take a lot of hard work. So we’ll just be patient. We have time. We cannot just say because we lose today that we have to change everything. We have to change some things. We have to be more consistent. It’s still a work in progress and we have to learn from this loss today.’’
Julian Benbow can be reached at julian.benbow@globe.com.
