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The PA announcer began with the Connecticut player intros for this Sunday matinee against the Liberty at Barclays Center. The first name he called had a familiar ring to it from a few years ago in the WNBA, a 32-year-old point guard from North Babylon rising again with the Sun.
“At guard, 5-9 from UConn, No. 14, Bria Hartley.”
The player who once scored 51 points in a game for North Babylon and made All-America in both her high school and college days had to deal with a couple of devastating issues during her pro days.
She tore both ACLs in the span of three seasons, the second time in 2022.
Hartley wasn’t in the league the last two seasons after playing nine years, including three with the Liberty. But the rebuilding Sun summoned her during training camp in May.
And so she’s back where she wanted to be in 2023 and 2024, playing basketball again in the best women’s league in the world.
“It means a lot,” Hartley said, standing on the court before Connecticut fell to the Liberty. “That was kind of my goal. That’s what my main focus has been the last two, three years is getting back into the league and just showcasing what I can do. I’ve gotten here and I’ve proven that I can still move pretty well.
“It took time, but I got here and proved that I didn’t give up.”
Upsetting times
After her run with the Liberty, she signed as a free agent with Phoenix for the 2020 season when the WNBA played all of its games in the so-called “bubble” — IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida — due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hartley was having her best season, averaging 14.6 points and 4.5 assists. But she tore her right ACL against Washington in her 13th game and underwent surgery.
“I love Bria Hartley, one of my favorite players that I ever coached,” said Sandy Brondello, now the Liberty coach and then Hartley’s coach with the Mercury. “She was really rolling in that bubble season that we had with Phoenix. She was our best player in the bubble and then she went down, and that was tough.”
She came back to play six games the following season with Phoenix, then got traded to Indiana before the 2022 season. The Fever waived her that July. She signed three days later with Connecticut.
And then came another bad twist to her story in her third game.
Her left knee took a wrong turn against Minnesota after she attempted to keep a ball inbounds.
ACL No. 2.
One was bad enough.
“It kind of just compounded off of the reaction from the first one,” Hartley said. “The first one, the timing and everything just didn’t necessarily feel right, just how I was playing in the moment.
“And then kind of the same thing that year, going from Indy, kind of not really getting the chance to play in that rotation and then coming to Connecticut and finding a role that fit me really well and then going down (after) only three games with them, it’s just upsetting.
“It’s upsetting and it sucks when it’s like in your prime, most of the time the best years in your career. So it was definitely upsetting, but at the same time, I still wanted to play. I wanted to be able to get back and play basketball, whether it was in the W — yes, that was the goal — but just getting back and being able to play basketball. Like last year, I was overseas.”
That was in Turkey. The year before, she returned to play in Spain. Las Vegas also had her in training camp last year, but the Aces waived her.
So Hartley and the WNBA went on without each other for those two seasons.
“I missed it a lot,” Hartley said. “And then also, at the same time, it was kind of all I knew. Coming out of college, every summer, I was playing in the W. So that first year, 2023, kind of not playing, it was a little weird. It was foreign to me. So it was an adjustment. Most of my friends were on teams and playing. So (I was) missing even that time being spent with them.”
There was more mom time with her now 8-year-old son, Bryson, and there was time to spend in other fulfilling ways.
“I had my son with me in the summertime,” Hartley said. “I was rehabbing and working out in Minnesota. I gained a community of friends and everything in Minnesota. So I was able to venture out and kind of find my community. I was coaching high school in Minnesota. That was really cool training some kids out there.
“I found my purpose with things I wanted to do while also keeping my eyes on trying to make it back to the W.”
The pride of North Babylon
Back in her hometown, Hartley joined the varsity during eighth grade. By the time five seasons had passed, she finished just 22 points shy of 2,000 for her career.
In her senior year at North Babylon, she was Newsday’s Long Island Player of the Year, the New York Gatorade Player of the Year, just as she was in her junior year, and a McDonald’s All-American. Hartley averaged 28.8 points per game.
“I think my last two years in high school, I really showcased my ability to score versus my first two years in high school,” Hartley said. “I think I’ve carried that on with me as my career has gone on, being a scoring point guard, being able to facilitate but also being able to shoot. The biggest thing I think I’ve improved on is my three-point shooting.”
Her final game for North Babylon in 2010 was the ultimate showcase. She scored 51 points in the Suffolk AA championship game against Sachem East — and lost. The Bulldogs fell 72-69.
“I’ll never forget,” Hartley said.
She had some unforgettable days at UConn — four trips to the Final Four, back-to-back national championships and nearly 2,000 more points, finishing with 1,994.
Seattle took her with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft and immediately traded her rights to Washington. After three seasons with the Mystics, she was traded to the Liberty in late January of 2017, about two weeks after her son was born. She averaged 8.6 points and 2.9 assists across the next three seasons.
“Those were some of my best years,” Hartley said. “I was still fairly young, and after having my son, that’s when I was with a team that really taught me how to be a pro or continue to be a pro.
“We had a really good year my first year with the Liberty, playing with someone like Tina (Charles), MVP-caliber player, just kind of growing and just getting better in my game. That helped me earn that contract, going to play with Phoenix.”
The comeback
She played in the nearly monthlong Athletes United season earlier this year, averaging 15.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Now she’s playing for new Connecticut coach Rachid Meziane.
They already knew each other. He was an assistant coach when she played with the silver medal-winning French National Team in the EuroBasket championship in 2019. She was at 7.6 points and 2.6 assists in the Sun’s 1-6 start while continuing to get her rhythm back.
“She brings a lot of experience,” Meziane said. “She knows my system, so it’s easier for her to fit with my offensive system. She has good three-point shooting ability. It means that she can give more space to our post players … She’s coachable.”
Hartley said she may want to be a coach in the WNBA someday.
“The biggest thing for me is time with my son when I’m done playing,” she said. “So I don’t think I’d want to be a college coach and that crazy schedule. If it’s like a W season, where I’m able to be in one spot a little more, I’d probably like that. We’ll see.”
For now, Hartley is showing again that she can rebound.
“She’s faced a lot of adversity since (2020) with two ACLs,” Brondello said. “But what she is, she’s tough. She’s resilient. She’s come back and she knows she can play at this level, and she’s getting the opportunity to show what she’s capable of. … Great to see her back in the league.”
