The Indiana Fever dropped their first playoff game since 2016 on Sunday afternoon. DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas, and Marina Mabrey shined as the Connecticut Sun won 93-69 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. Bonner dropped 22 points, but it was her defense on Caitlin Clark that was most impressive.
The Fever rookie has changed the game and brought new popularity to the W. She finished fourth in MVP voting and is already elite. Everyone was excited to see what Clark would do in her first playoff game, but it turned into a rough afternoon.
Sun head coach Stephanie White made a brilliant adjustment on the Fever superstar, which forced her struggles. There was also an incident with DiJonai Carrington that made matters worse for Clark. Her struggles continued against the Sun and has Connecticut in the driver’s seat in this series.
DeWanna Bonner locks down Caitlin Clark as Sun take Game 1
Clark could not get things going in the first half. She missed all six of her 3-point attempts and was just one of nine from the field in the opening 20 minutes. The Sun were primarily using DeWanna Bonner to guard the Fever’s star, and Clark could not get going. The rookie did have four assists, two rebounds, two steals, and one block, but the Fever were down eight at the break.
The 6’4 forward’s size and length made things difficult on the Fever’s star. Clark got some open looks, but nothing was falling.
Clark was also hit in the face by Carrington early, which gave her a black eye. Fans know the history between these two, and the inadvertent shot likely affected Clark’s performance.
The 22-year-old did not make her first 3-pointer until 6:57 remaining in the third quarter. She got things going a bit in the second half, but it was not enough. Clark finished with 11 points, eight assists, four rebounds, three steals, and one blocks in 36 minutes of action. She made just four of her 17 field goal attempts and was two of 13 from 3-point range.
Efficiency was a massive difference. The Fever could not get things going from long range as their offense stalled. They needed more from Clark and must slow down the Sun’s shooting in Game 2. Connecticut shot 50 percent from 3-point range on Sunday afternoon in the dominant win.
The Sun survived a Tyasha Harris injury. The starter hurt her ankle on a first-quarter closeout attempt and played just four minutes. It opened up more minutes of Marina Mabrey, and the veteran guard delivered. She had 27 points, including five 3-pointers made, in 32 minutes of action in Game 1.
Alyssa Thomas had a triple-double in Game 1 and was plus-19 in her 37 minutes of action. She helped key the dominant win for Connecticut.
The Indiana Fever must win on Wednesday evening to keep their season alive. They will be underdogs after losing four of their five meetings versus Connecticut this season. Can Caitlin Clark bounce back and keep the Fever’s season alive? Be sure to tune in to find out.