Mohegan — Connecticut Sun guard Natisha Hiedeman had to adjust to some drastically new experiences playing for Nadezhda Orenburg in Russia during the WNBA offseason.

The cold didn't bother Hiedeman too much (she grew up in Green Bay) but the lack of sunlight was a bit of a bummer. Then there was the travel, such as a two-day trip the team made last December to play Olympiacos F.C. in Piraeus, Greece.

Yes, a two-day trip.

"Russia is just so big," Hiedeman said. "It took forever to get anywhere."

Connecticut is about to embark on a long and tiring schedule of its own — five games in nine days and nine games in 17 days. The grind starts Friday when it hosts the Indiana Fever in the first game of a home-and-home series (7 p.m., Mohegan Sun, NESN Plus).

"Think about that — were going to play nine games in 17 days in (five) different (parts of the country)," Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller said.

The Sun (2-1) will leave the arena shortly after Friday's game, take a bus to Windsor Locks and spend the night at a Bradley International Airport hotel. Not that they're going to spend much time at the hotel.

Connecticut booked all their flights back in December, but Miller said this flight has changed "six or seven times." The end result is that the team must take two flights out with the coaching staff leaving on the first one.

Check-in time for the first flight is 4:45 a.m. The players have to be at the ticket counter at 6 a.m.

Asked if he'll get any sleep, Miller smiled, then said, "No, not on this stretch."

The WNBA doesn't allow teams to charter flights, so try to imagine trying to get comfortable on a cramped commercial flight if you're Brionna Jones (6-foot-3), DeWanna Bonner (6-4) or Jonquel Jones (6-6).

Connecticut plays at the Fever (2-4) on Sunday. It flies back home and hosts the Dallas Wings on May 24 and 26 and the Washington Mystics on May 28. Then the fun really begins as the Sun head west and play the Las Vegas Aces (May 31 and June 2), the Phoenix Mercury (June 3) and the Seattle Storm on (June 5).

Connecticut returns home and hosts Indiana again on June 8.

Playing so many games in so many cities in so little time leaves WNBA teams little to no time to practice. Sun players can read and watch scouting reports on their smartphones or computers.

"To think that were going to practice (every day). ... it's very difficult," Miller said. "It's unfortunate that you have to clean things up after the fact. When we arrive into an opposing city, we typically go straight from the airport to the practice facility and if we're not doing practice, (then) we typically go straight to the hotel conference room that we have reserved and go right into film (study)."

Connecticut will have flown over 7,600 miles by the end of the trip. To put that in perspective, New London to Tokyo is approximately 6,745 miles.

"I'll be tired, sleepy tired," Hiedeman said about how she feels at the end of a long road trip. "It's just a lot."

n.griffen@theday.com