Caitlin Clark’s rookie season in the WNBA is now over. (Joe Baglewicz/Getty Images)
Caitlin Clark’s rookie season is over.
Alyssa Thomas and the Connecticut Sun finished off their playoff opener against Clark and the Indiana Fever on Wednesday night. The Sun held off a close battle in the final minutes to beat the Fever 87-81 in Game 2 of the series at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The win, following a 24-point victory in Game 1 on Sunday night, advanced the Suns to their sixth consecutive semifinal appearance and will face either the Minnesota Lynx or Phoenix Mercury in the next round, while Clark and Indiana, playing in their first postseason since 2016, will return home to Indianapolis.
The Suns led by 11 early in the fourth quarter, but allowed Clark and the Fever to fight back and briefly take the lead late in the quarter thanks to a stunning 3-pointer from Clark.
But the Fever’s efforts to extend their season ultimately proved fruitless. They made just two shots in the final two minutes of the game, both of which were layups. Then DeWanna Bonner and Marlena Mabry both hit three-pointers to help the Suns take the lead again. They stormed back from there to win by six points and secure a spot in the semifinals.
Clark finished with 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds in the loss. She made 10 of 23 field goals and 3 of 12 3-pointers. She also became just the second rookie in league history to record 25 points, five assists and five rebounds in a playoff game, joining Maya Moore. Aaliyah Boston added 16 points and 19 rebounds, and Kelsey Mitchell added 17 points. They were the only three players in double figures for Indiana.
Alyssa Thomas led the Sun with 19 points and 13 assists after recording a triple-double in Game 1. Mabrey added 17 points and Bonner had 15 points and eight rebounds.
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Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 9:40 PM EDT
Caitlin Clark’s rookie season will end where it began in Connecticut. This young team with Clark at its core is ready to compete for championships in a few years, but it will take losses like this to get there. Expect the Fever to add a veteran with plenty of playoff experience during the offseason. If they re-sign Mitchell (UFA), he’ll likely join them at the 3 or 4 position.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 9:34 PM EDT
Mitchell walks into the paint in a black jersey, the Suns go back to the free throw line, DeWanna Bonner adds two more points, and it’s game over. Everyone stands up.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 9:33 PM EDT
After Mitchell missed another 3-pointer and the Sun got the rebound, Indiana fouled Dijonai Carrington, forcing her to take two free throws to put the game away. She made both to give Connecticut a six-point lead.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 9:31 PM EDT
Indiana commits two nasty turnovers: Hull throws the ball away on an out-of-bounds play, Mitchell gets the rebound for a short 3-pointer but throws the ball away, and Marina Mabry (who else?) hits a 3-pointer at the other end to extend the lead to four with 45.5 seconds left.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 9:29 PM EDT
https://x.com/stevejones20/status/1839114742402589012
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 9:28 PM EDT
It’s another monster game for Boston, the youngest on this young team, and they’re not far from a big March Madness moment: 1 minute, 28 seconds left and the Suns leading 78-77.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 9:27 PM EDT Wednesday, September 25, 2024 9:26 PM EDT Wednesday, September 25, 2024 9:23 PM EDT
Thai ball game
The cheers continued long after Clark’s 3-pointer put Indiana up 71-70. She put Indiana back on track with a fadeaway, a rebound and a hockey assist (Hull got the assist) on a Fagbenle 3-pointer. She finished with 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
On the other side, Marina Mabry answered with a three-pointer and Fagbenle, assisted by Boston, tied the score at 73-73. The final three minutes looked like they were going to be good.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 9:20 PM EDT
Caitlin Clark hits a 3-pointer to give Indiana the lead!
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 9:15 PM EDT
4Q: Sun 68, Heat 63
The Fever seem to be holding onto a 7 point lead throughout the second half. Dantas and Fagbenle are involved on the final few attempts but just can’t stop the ball. AT (19p/10a/5r) stopped Fagbenle multiple times on a few attempts, as he had issues with ball control and committed a shot clock violation. Indiana’s defense needs to make stops to make up for this and force a Game 3.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 9:06 PM EDT
4Q: Sun 61, Heat 52
Thomas would score two more points (16p/10a/5r) and the Sun would have seven players score to take a nine-point lead.
Clark had 20 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Boston (12 points/17 rebounds) and Mitchell (10 points) also scored in double figures, but Hull was just 1 of 5 from 3-point range and Fagbenle didn’t score. The only points were two free throws from Wheeler.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 9:05 PM EDT Wednesday, September 25, 2024 9:04 PM EDT Wednesday, September 25, 2024 9:01 PM EDT
3Q 2:03 | Sun 57, Fever 50
Alyssa Thomas had 12 points, 10 assists and four rebounds for the Sun.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 8:53 PM EDT Wednesday, September 25, 2024 8:53 PM EDT
A dominant first half performance from Caitlin Clark wasn’t enough to give the Fever a first-half lead over the Sun ☀️
Caitlin Clark: 14 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds.
Alyssa Thomas: 6 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds pic.twitter.com/dRukFq0J4e
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 26, 2024
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 8:47 PM EDT
The Fever quickly tied the score at 41-41, forcing the Suns to take a timeout with 8:19 to play. Lexi Hull scored a three on an assist from Clark, Clark drove and Boston blocked Clark’s assist.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 8:45 PM EDT
HALF: Sun 41, Heat 34
Caitlin Clark led all scorers with 14 points (5-12/2-7). She and Kelsey Mitchell (7 points, 3-8 overall) played the full 20 minutes of the first half. Clark appeared frustrated with Erica Wheeler picking up the ball on a quick inbounds pass from Boston at the end of the first half.
Connecticut is hitting the Fever at the same pace it did in Game 1, when the Fever was near their lowest scoring pace of the season. White said before the game that with Mabrey now in the starting lineup, her energy has to be found somewhere. That’s obviously Veronica Barton. Her eight points are one shy of Mabrey’s team-high nine points. She’s playing 11 minutes.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 8:31 PM EDT
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