WNBA: Saniya Rivers, Jacy Sheldon are the future of the Sun

While they recently snapped their 10-game losing streak, the Connecticut Sun are just 1-3 in the month of July, still in last place in the WNBA standings.

But, there’s been visible improvement on both sides of the floor that inspires optimism about the organization’s future, beginning with their promising backcourt tandem.

Saniya Rivers, Jacy Sheldon are the guard duo of the future

Whether its Jacy Sheldon passing to Saniya Rivers for an open jumper or Rivers pushing the ball forward to Sheldon on the fastbreak, the two young players are building a rapport that can benefit the team in the long run.

The duo’s skills were on full display in the July 9 win over the Seattle Storm. Sheldon had 16 points (4-of-6 from 3) and four assists, while Rivers scored 11 points, including eight points in the first four minutes of the second half that kept the Sun in the game when they needed it most. The rookie also had four rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Her most important helper happened with a bit over a minute left in the game, when she stole the ball from Skylar Diggins and immediately set up Tina Charles for an easy two.

In Sunday’s close loss against the Los Angeles Sparks, Rivers scored a career-high 20 points, missing just three of 11 attempts from the floor.

Unfortunately, two of those misses came in the fourth quarter, when the game was within reach. Nonetheless, the fact that the rookie was encouraged to take those shots in such moments reveals about the trust that head coach Rachid Meziane and the organization has in her.

Tina Charles is an ageless wonder

At 36 years old, Tina Charles is carrying a team of journeywomen and inexperienced players, proving time and time again why she’s a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.

At times, she is expected to do too much, which explains her occasional struggles from the floor. In the Sun’s 93-83 win over the Storm in Connecticut, she had a double-double of 29 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 50 percent from the field. When the Sun lost 79-65 in the rematch in Seattle, Charles had a less-efficient double-double of 20 points and 10 boards, finishing 27.8 percent from the field (although she was a perfect 10-for-10 from the line).

The second game, however, was still special on an individual level, as Charles became the second WNBA player to break the barrier of 8,000 career points. When the free throw went in, there was no fist-pumping and no timeout called to celebrate the achievement. Instead, Charles immediately went back on defense and got back to work. A truly remarkable player and an example for others to follow.