MOHEGAN — The Connecticut Sun announced Wednesday that it has acquired Alex Bentley in a trade that sent Kara Lawson to the Washington Mystics.

Earlier in the day, Washington traded Matee Ajavon and its second round (No. 18) pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft to Atlanta in exchange for Bentley and a third round (No. 32) pick in this year’s draft.

“I am extremely excited that we have added Alex Bentley to our team,” Sun head coach Anne Donovan said. “Alex is a young point guard who has a very bright future as a pro. As the No. 13 draft pick last season, she played some brilliant minutes for the Dream in her rookie year. I am thrilled to have her energy first and foremost. Her scoring ability and defensive toughness will be a great spark at our point position. At the end of the day, we want people who want to be here, want to buy into the program and who want to help us achieve our goal of bringing a WNBA championship to Connecticut.”

Bentley, selected out of Penn State by the Dream, saw action in 34 games during her rookie season. The Indianapolis native averaged 8.3 points, 2.8 assists and 1.4 rebounds en-route to being named to the 2013 WNBA All-Rookie Team.

“We’re very happy that we were able to acquire a young player with the upside of Alex Bentley,” Sun Vice President and General Manager Chris Sienko said. “This is someone we feel fits into what Anne is trying to build here, and we have every expectation that she will grow into the kind of productive player we believe she can be.”

Signed as a free agent prior to the 2010 season after the dispersal of the Sacramento Monarchs, Lawson averaged 11.5 points while shooting 41.4 percent from behind the arc during her tenure in Connecticut. This past season, the veteran guard played in just nine games.