Caitlin Clark and the Fever were dealt a rude awakening in their Game 1 clash with the Sun on Sunday afternoon.
Connecticut, led by impressive displays from DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas, DiJonai Carrington, and Marina Mabrey, cruised to a 93-67 win over Indiana. With the victory, the Sun are one game away from a berth in the second round.
The Sun entered the contest with the best defense in the land, posting a league-best 94.1 defensive rating during the regular season.
Stephanie White's side proved why it had developed such a harrowing reputation in the game's opening moments. White opted to have Bonner mark Clark, hoping her length would deter the prospective Rookie of the Year.
White's decision worked a treat. Hounded by Bonner and Carrington, Clark shot 4-of-17, finishing the game with just 11 points, well short of her season average.
Thomas recorded her fourth-career playoff triple-double, while Mabrey dropped 27 points, the most points scored by a bench player in a playoff game in WNBA history.
All that amounted to a blowout win for Connecticut, which reaffirmed its status as one of league's finest franchises under the bright Mohegan Sun Arena lights on Sunday.
The Sporting News tracked live updates from Sunday's Round 1 clash between the Fever and Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena. Follow below for highlights and analysis from an eye-catching Game 1.
WATCH: Fever vs. Sun WNBA playoff matchup live on Fubo (free trial)
Fever vs. Sun score
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | F | |
| Fever | 20 | 18 | 19 | 12 | 67 |
| Sun | 23 | 23 | 22 | 25 | 93 |
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Caitlin Clark stats
- Points: 11
- Rebounds: 3
- Assists: 6
- Steals: 2
- Blocks: 1
- Turnovers: 1
- FGs: 4-15 (2-11 from three)
MORE: How Caitlin Clark's Fever can upset Sun in first round of WNBA playoffs
Fever vs. Sun live results, updates, highlights
(All times Eastern)
End of fourth quarter: Sun 93, Fever 67
4:59 p.m.: Thomas goes down after fielding a pass on the short roll. Looks like she's alright. But White will take her out of the game as a precaution. Expect the rest of Connecticut's lineup to follow suit sooner rather than later; it's up 21 with two minutes left.
4:53 p.m.: Thomas corrals her 10th board of the day, securing her fourth-career postseason triple-double in the process. The rest of the WNBA has two combined, for comparison.
4:51 p.m.: The Fever have just three points halfway through the fourth quarter. That could explain the increasingly lopsided nature of today's contest.
4:47 p.m.: The second half has been Marina Mabrey's! She's up to 27 points, 20 of which came in the second half. It's her playoff career high. And it has the Sun up 21 points in this one.
ANOTHER SET OF BACK-TO-BACK THREE'S FROM MABREY #BringTheHeat pic.twitter.com/5f7TRJYNBg
— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) September 22, 2024
4:44 p.m.: Carrington takes flight, flying high to deny Temi Fagbenle on the fast break. Impressive sway by an impressive defender. Connecticut leads by 13 in the quarter's opening moments.
SEAT BELT SEASON REMAINS #BringTheHeat pic.twitter.com/r3Vks7hqJI
— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) September 22, 2024
End of third quarter: Sun 68, Fever 57
4:38 p.m.: Mabrey powers Connecticut in the third, dropping 11 points as the Sun extends its lead to double-digits.
4:32 p.m.: Clark returns the favor, finding her mark from beyond the arc with Mabrey guarding her.
Caitlin Clark shakes off her defender and nails an electric stepback three ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/0agQWaRZlS
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 22, 2024
4:29 p.m.: Mabrey is heating up. She's up to 18 points today's, including an impressive three-ball over Clark's outstretched grasp. Sun beginning to put some distance between themselves and the Fever here.
4:25 p.m.: Clark sinks her first three of the game. She desperately needed that; she had missed her first six attempts beforehand.
4:24 p.m.: Connecticut pushes its advantage up the nine after a pair of baskets, one from Carrington and one from Bonner.
4:20 p.m.: Back to action here from Mohegan Sun Arena. It's been a slow start thus far with both sides. But after a Mitchell corner triple, Indiana is within five points.
End of second quarter: Sun 46, Fever 38
3:59 p.m.: Bonner swats Clark's errant effort as the second quarter nears its close.
not on DB's watch‼️#BringTheHeat pic.twitter.com/sEHxbyJLgw
— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) September 22, 2024
3:57 p.m.: Things starting to open up a bit for Connecticut. The Sun erupt for a 9-0 run to push its lead up to seven.
3:50 p.m.: Hull has been wondrous to start the game. Although she's garnered praise as a three-point shooter, it's her aggression on the offensive glass that has stood out in the first half. She's got six rebounds today, three of which came on the offensive side of the ball.
3:48 p.m.: Seems like the clock is malfunctioning, with the game regularly being stopped due to time-keeping issues. Not ideal for a Fever side that wants to push the ball in transition.
3:39 p.m.: Mitchell with a delicate basket, side-stepping her marker with a sumptuous hesitation before getting to the cup. She's got seven points thus far. And she'll receive a rousing applause as she steps out the same. She'll be replaced by Clark, who was rested during the first three minutes of the second frame.
Kelsey Mitchell showing off the speed 💨 pic.twitter.com/vyP36t8yR6
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 22, 2024
End of first quarter: Sun 23, Fever 20
3:27 p.m.: Fever having some difficulty keeping Connecticut off the offensive boards early. Thomas finishes over length after corralling a missed shot. Will be hard for Indiana to get in transition if it's unable to limit the likes of Thomas or Bonner from attacking the glass on the offensive end of the floor.
3:23 p.m.: Clark finds the target for her first career postseason points, slaloming beyond Marina Mabrey before sinking a scoop layup under the basket.
Caitlin Clark gets the reverse to fall for her first @WNBA playoff points 😤 pic.twitter.com/qLiAgk0nDB
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 22, 2024
3:19 p.m.: Boston looking as good as ever in the short roll. She's got six points on 3-of-5 shooting early.
Kelsey Mitchell floats in the pass to Aliyah Boston for 2 👏 pic.twitter.com/Hklbfy4UkN
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 22, 2024
3:16 p.m.: Ty Harris, Connecticut's starting guard, looks to have rolled her ankle after landing on Lexie Hull's foot while the Fever wing was attempting a three-pointer. She's being helped to the locker room. Hull will head to the free-throw line here.
3:14 p.m.: Bonner drops her second three and third jumper of the day! She was only a 29 percent three-point shooter during the regular season. If she can find her shooting touch, it could be a long series for Indiana.
DeWanna Bonner sinking yet ANOTHER TRIPLE! #BringTheHeat pic.twitter.com/W0r6HWBw3C
— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) September 22, 2024
3:11 p.m.: Clark goes down. Looks like she took an inadvertent shot to the eye from Carrington. Looks like she's gonna try to shaking things off and stay in the game.
3:07 p.m.: Interesting wrinkle in White's game plan. Looks like she's starting the game with Bonner matched up against Clark as opposed to DiJonai Carrington. Bonner is super lengthy but she's also 37 years old. Will be interesting to see how that impacts Clark's play off the pick-and-roll. Seems like White is committed to mitigating Clark's prowess for the PNR basket, be that through her own scoring ability or her passing.
3:00 p.m.: And we're off! Kelsey Mitchell hits from the mid-range to kick things off, while DeWanna Bonner returns the favor by sinking a corner three. What a start!
2:00 p.m.: Clark spoke on her team's confidence entering into its first playoff appearance since 2016. Fun fact, that team was coached by Stephanie White, Connecticut's current skipper.
"Be confident, we're meant to be here."
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 22, 2024
Caitlin Clark on the team's mentality heading into their first game of the postseason 😤 pic.twitter.com/quB3V6XH7v
1:50 p.m.: Plenty of support for the Sun coming from the Northeast. The Patriots and Celtics are among the franchise's most vociferous fans, evidenced by each organization's post on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday morning.
Time to shine @ConnecticutSun ‼️ pic.twitter.com/5zLZsLL4rL
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 22, 2024
Go get that trophy 🏆
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) September 22, 2024
Good luck to our sister squad @ConnecticutSun pic.twitter.com/Sl643LepUC
1:30 p.m.: Trench coat have increasingly come back into fashion in recent years. Perhaps Clark —who sported the billowy item prior to Sunday's clash — could add to the jacket's growing legacy.
Caitlin Clark arrives for her first playoff game 🕶 pic.twitter.com/lMXlE8jHle
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 22, 2024
1:20 p.m.: Clark has garnered her fair share of awards ahead of today's game. She finished fourth in MVP voting and was named the AP's unanimous Rookie of the Year. She also was (unanimously) selected to the AP's All-Rookie and All-WNBA first teams.
Caitlin Clark...
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 22, 2024
🏆 AP All-WNBA First Team
🏆 AP Rookie of the Year (unanimous)
🏆 AP All-Rookie Team
is her. pic.twitter.com/O5beRNtLlx
MORE: Inside the budding rivalry between Caitlin Clark and DiJonai Carrington
Fever vs. Sun start time
- Date: Sunday, Sept. 22
- Time: 3 p.m. ET
The Fever and Sun will clash at Mohegan Sun Arena in Montville, Connecticut on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 3 p.m. ET.
MORE: Here's the difference between Caitlin Clark being MVP and struggling rookie
How to watch Fever vs. Sun
- TV channel: ABC (U.S.), TSN2 (Canada)
- Live stream: WNBA League Pass, ESPN+, Fubo
Fever-Sun will be aired nationally on ABC in the U.S. Canadian viewers can follow all the action on TSN2.
Cord-cutters can find the action on ESPN+ or Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
