Even before they were taken with the first, second and fourth picks in the 2002 WNBA draft, it was evident that Sue Bird, Swin Cash and Asjha Jones were something special.

Still, as they are in the midst of their 10th WNBA season, their accomplishments are rather impressive.

Bird is the 20th all-time leading scorer in the history of the WNBA even though she is very much of a pass first, shoot second point guard. She trails only Ticha Penicheiro on the WNBA's all-time assists list. Cash, despite being run out of Detroit by then head coach Bill Laimbeer and dealing with what could have been a career-ending back injury, ranks 21st on the career scoring charts and has been a member of three WNBA championship teams. Jones got off to a slow start in her WNBA career but flourished when she was traded from Washington to Connecticut. In her first two seasons with the Sun, Connecticut advanced to the WNBA championship series. Jones is 30th all-time among WNBA career scorers.

Think about that for a second. Three players from the same recruiting class all rank in the top 30 in points scored in WNBA history even though they did not debut until the sixth season. The impact the trio has had was the subject of a story I wrote for Saturday's edition of the Register.

As for the game, another former UConn star played a starring role as Tina Charles had her sixth straight double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds in Connecticut's 75-70 win over the defending WNBA champion Seattle Storm. That ties Charles' career high for consecutive double-doubles. Both Renee Montgomery and Kara Lawson had season highs in assists and eight and seven respectively.

Cash had a game-high 25 points, 17 coming in the second half. She was 12 for 12 from the foul line tying the most free throws without a miss ever by an opponent of the Connecticut Sun. The Sun led by as many as 19 points but had to hold on after being held without a field goal for the final 6 1/2 minutes. For the second time this season Lawson, one of the league's best free-throw shooters, missed a foul shot late. In an overtime loss to Chicago it proved costly as the Sky was able to work the ball inside to Sylvia Fowles for a game-tying basket. Had Lawson hit both free throws, Chicago would have been forced to attempt a 3-pointer.

On Friday, Lawson's miss allowed Bird to had a shot at a game-tying 3-pointer. With Jones providing the defense, Bird missed badly and Kalana Greene sank two free throws to ice the game.