The state of Connecticut has decided on its new favorite WNBA team. With the Sun relocating to Houston after 23 years at Mohegan Sun Arena after this season, the Dallas Wings are set to fill the void for local women’s basketball fans.

In fact, if Thursday was any indication, that transition has already begun. The near-capacity crowd at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford had no trouble showing up Wings gear or rooting for the away team. Clutch baskets late by Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd elicited ear-piercing cheers. The Sun might’ve been the hosts on paper, but they didn’t have much of a home-court advantage.

“They were a great crowd. It was a great environment,” Bueckers said afterwards. “It felt like a home game, in a sense.”

“They have so much magnitude, especially in a place like this,” Alanna Smith said about Bueckers and Fudd.

It helped that the Huskies on the floor put on a show, especially in the fourth quarter. The Wings took an early lead, only for the Sun to go up by as many as 14 points in the second half.

But a comeback was inevitable. Not only is Dallas tied for a league-best four double-digit rallies, Connecticut has consistently struggled to finish out games as well.

Bueckers was central to the late surge. She racked up 11 points on 4-4 shooting in the fourth quarter en route to a game-high 25 points. Bueckers converted two three-point plays in the final 2:15, then hit the eventual game-winning free throw with 25 seconds remaining.

“She's just different,” Dallas coach Jose Fernandez said. “She's such a competitor and a winner. She just refuses to lose. Certain guys don't want the ball in their hands at the end, don't want to take the big shot. She never shies away from the big moment, go-to moment.”

Fudd did her part, too. After a 0-5 start from the field, she sank her first basket to cut the deficit down to four with 5:05 remaining then added another to put them ahead by two with 51 ticks to go.

They weren’t the only former UConn players to come up in the clutch, either. Aaliyah Edwards did all she could to spoil her former teammates’ homecoming. She scored the Sun’s final seven points, answering both of Bueckers’ and-ones as well as Fudd’s late jumper. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough. Edwards learned what it was like to be on the wrong side of Bueckers’ heroics as Dallas came away with a thrilling 86-83 victory.

This was the last time the Wings were scheduled to visit the Sun this season, meaning it could be the final time Bueckers and Fudd play in Connecticut. On Wednesday night, the pair got dinner with the current Huskies, where they caught up with old teammates and met the newcomers, too.

Bueckers got to know Marine Dursus, who will wear No. 5 as her jersey number. While some pockets of the internet weren’t happy about the choice, Bueckers gave the freshman her blessing.

“She's gonna do great things with it. Talked to her last night, she's great, and I'm happy she's going to continue that on,” the Wings star said. “I wasn't the first person to wear No. 5, I’m not going to be the last. So I'm happy she's got it.”

Fudd had her hair braided for the game by Jana El Alfy and returned to campus after dinner. While only three months have passed since she left Storrs, she appreciated the chance to go back, even if only for a brief time.

“Being here definitely does bring back some of those feelings,” Fudd said. “The last time I was here, I was crying my whole way leaving.”

While the Wings won’t travel to face the Sun anymore, Bueckers doesn’t want this to be her last time taking the court in Connecticut. WNBA teams have started to schedule contests outside their typical home floor — whether it’s the Sun playing in Boston and Hartford, the New York Liberty hosting an exhibition at the University of Oregon or the Indiana Fever visiting Iowa. Bueckers wants Dallas to continue that trend.

“I hope we can get like an exhibition game or something at Gampel on campus. That would be really cool,” she said. “Speaking that into existence.”

The homecoming didn’t end with the final buzzer, either. After the game, Bueckers and Fudd met up with Edwards and Nelson-Ododa.

“Those are our sisters, that’s family,” Bueckers said. “The UConn bond is for life, just what you go through, how you go through it, the experiences, the relationships that you build. Obviously, we're competing against each other tonight, so we both wanted to beat each other and go to war that way. But at the end of the day, it's always love, it's always a sisterhood, and I really am happy for those guys. They're playing well.”

But…

“Happy we got the win, too,” she added.

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