Megan McConnell’s regular-season WNBA debut turned bittersweet Tuesday night.
Hours after the Phoenix Mercury announced the former Duquesne star had signed a rest-of-season contract, she made her debut against the Minnesota Lynx.
McConnell played 13 minutes and hit a 3-pointer in an 88-65 loss, finishing with three points, three assists, a rebound and a steal.
The night took a turn, however, with 1:43 left in the fourth quarter when McConnell collided with Minnesota’s Alissa Pili while going for a loose ball and suffered an apparent right knee injury. She was helped off the court.
In April, McConnell accepted a WNBA training camp invite with the Mercury and played in the WNBA preseason for the team. In two preseason games, she averaged 10 minutes and 3 points per game.
McConnell is a Chartiers Valley grad who became the third player from Duquesne to make an active WNBA roster behind Candace Futrell in 2004 and Korie Hlede in 1998.
“Meg had worked incredibly hard to play in the WNBA,” Duquesne coach Dan Burt said in a release. “This roster spot is well earned. So happy for such an awesome young woman.”
Her older brother, TJ McConnell, a guard for the Indiana Pacers, will play in Game 1 of the NBA finals on Thursday. The McConnells make up one of three brother-sister pairs in the NBA and WNBA.
McConnell is Duquesne women’s basketball’s record holder with 660 assists, 370 steals, 144 games played and four triple-doubles. Her career marks of 1,795 points and 1,079 rebounds are second in school history.
McConnell also played in the 2025 Women’s College All-Star Game and earned Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Phoenix’s 5-2 start was its best record through seven games since 2014.
