Marina Mabrey Injury: Why did Connecticut Sun guard momentarily exit Game 5?

Connecticut Sun guard Marina Mabrey suffered an unfortunate injury during Game 5 of the semifinal series against the Minnesota Lynx. The series is tied at 2-2 and both teams have a chance to meet the New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals. However, only one team will advance to the final round.

During the second period of the game, Mabrey fell to the ground after Lynx's Natisha Hiedeman made a shot on a transition bucket. On a closer look, the Sun guard accidentally stepped on a cameraman's foot, which slightly twisted her left ankle. She fell to the ground and grabbed her foot.

Mabrey had to leave the court momentarily as the team's medical staff took a look at her injury in the locker room. Watch the video below to see how she injured her foot.

Her absence was only for a short while as she made her way back to the locker room.

The 5-11 guard has played an important role for the Sun in the postseason. Mabrey has played every playoff game this year, averaging 17.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. In the four games she's played against the Lynx, she's put up 14.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

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How many Finals appearances does the Connecticut Sun have?

The Connecticut Sun has been a part of the WNBA since the 1999 season. Throughout the years, they've had significant success in the season and were able to follow it up in the playoffs. However, they still managed to make it to the Finals four times in the franchise's history.

Their first appearance was in 2004 against the Seattle Storm, coached by Mike Thibault. Unfortunately, the Storm were too much for them as they lost the series, 1-2. The second time they made it to the finals was in 2005 against the Sacramento Monarchs. The Monarchs won the title that year, ending the title hopes of the Sun.

Following their loss to Sacramento, the team had a few years of postseason disappointment, including a few years where they didn't make the playoffs. However, they broke the streak of not making the finals in 2019 under coach Curt Miller. They played a five-game series against the Washington Mystics but it ended without a title.

In 2022, they returned to the finals against the Las Vegas Aces. The Aces won that year, ending the championship hopes of the Sun.

This year, they have a shot at winning their first title if they win the semifinals against the Lynx.