UNCASVILLE, Conn. - When she decided to resume her WNBA career, Mistie (Bass) Mims wanted an established team with common goals that worked hard.

So when the Connecticut Sun expressed an interest in the 6-3 forward from Duke, she gave her agent the go-ahead and in February signed a guaranteed two-year contract.

Her role is to back up Sun Olympians 6-4 Tina Charles and 6-3 Asjha Jones and Thursday in the Sun’s 87-85 loss to the 2011 WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx, Mims showed she’s more than capable of the job with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

 Mistie (Bass) Mims wearing a Houston Comets uniform in 2006. Photo by Donald Barnat

Head Coach Mike Thibault said he was pleased with the team’s effort, especially on the offensive end, where they shot 45.7 percent for the game. He said the game had an edge to it, especially for a pre-season contest and although his team had some defensive lapses, he got a look at all of his players who were healthy. With five Olympians on the floor (Charles, Jones and Lynx players Seimone Augustus, Lindsey Whalen and Maya Moore), it was to be expected, he said.

Thibault said he isn’t sure what roster moves he’ll make before May 17 when he has to cut two players to make the WNBA roster limit of ll. “It’s very competitive for the last spot or two,” he added.

“Mistie stepped up and did a good job,” Thibault said, calling her the  “perfect compliment to Asjha and Tina. “She has size and she’ll fill the role Jessica Moore had last year,” he said of the former UConn center who has retired with injuries.

“It’s nice to be back,” Mims said. “This team is easy to gel with ... they’re all friends, they work hard, they have the same mentality. They know what their roles are and it’s important for me to know my role.”

Mims knows her role is to back up Jones and Charles. ‘My objective isn’t to play 30 minutes – they have to do their thing and if they get hurt or in foul trouble, I’m in,” she said. She also said it’s an honor to back up such high caliber players as Jones and Charles.

Jones said Mims is a tough inside player who always “goes hard all the time.”

After the 2010 season with the Chicago Sky, Mims took last year off from the WNBA but for the past two winters has been one of the leading players on a French professional team.

“I wasn’t happy with the WNBA  - I was constantly questioning my game,” she said. She also needed a year off to spend with her family.

So she told her agent to stop shopping her around, even though her agent advised her to “strike while the iron is hot” since her 2010-11 European season was so good. After the 2011-12 season in France, however, she changed her tune and told her agent to find her a team.

“I had choices,” she said, but she accepted Connecticut because she liked the coach and respected the competitiveness of the team.

Having a guaranteed contract relieves anxiety because “you’re not constantly questioning your game, she said. “You can relax and concentrate on your game.”