Uncasville, Connecticut — Caitlin Clark's postseason career WNBA His career began at Mohegan Sun Arena, home of the Connecticut Sun. Five months after the Sun swept the Indiana Fever in their opening game, they did it again, but this time the stakes were much higher.
The Suns opened the playoffs with a 93-69 win over the Fever and went into the first game of a best-of-three postseason series with one of the league's hottest young teams, trailing 1-0.
DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas were key in the first half, but it was Marlena Mabry who turned the tide, exploding for 27 points, 20 of which came in the second half, the most points by a bench player in WNBA postseason history, according to ESPN.
Defensively, the Suns replaced Clark with Di'Jonai Carrington, then replaced Bonner in the second quarter and Mabry in the third. Clark struggled in his first postseason game, finishing with just 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting.
Most notably, Suns guard Ty Harris left the game in the first quarter with a sprained ankle and returned on crutches. In her absence, Veronica Barton saw increased time off the bench, adding eight points on 3-of-4 shooting in 19 minutes.
Before the game, Suns head coach Stephanie White praised the Fever's improvement since the last time the two teams met and said everyone knew a turnaround was coming.
“The reason that Indiana team is so fun for everybody to watch is because they have so much fun playing,” White said. “They seem young. They're enjoying the game, they're having fun together and they don't take things too seriously.”
The Fever was led by Kelsey Mitchell (21 points), Aaliyah Boston (17 points) and Domaris Dantas (12 points).
Alyssa Thomas, the WNBA's all-time triple-double holder, recorded another win with 13 assists, 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“I think AT is always underrated,” White said before the game. “I know the numbers were phenomenal a year ago, but her versatility, what she means to the team, whether it's with our team or the national team, whether she's brought in for defensive reasons, facilitating, she does whatever is asked of her. She doesn't care about triple-doubles, she doesn't care about MVP voting or any of that. All she cares about is winning.”
The atmosphere in the arena was undeniably raucous and favorable to the favored team at the time, and early on, the overflowing crowd of fans wearing #22 Caitlin Clark jerseys erupted at every Fever basket, but by the time the Sun built a double-digit lead, the atmosphere began to feel more like a typical home game, albeit with significantly more Indiana and Iowa fans.
The Sun will host the Fever again on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at Mohegan Sun Arena in the second game of their best-of-three series. If they win this game, they advance to the semifinals. If they lose, it will be a win-or-lose game in Game 3 in Indianapolis.
