Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Marina Mabrey led the way with 27 points, while DeWanna Bonner added 22 points.
UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT — Caitlin Clark’s postseason career began right where her WNBA career started: at the Mohegan Sun Arena, the home of the Connecticut Sun. Five months after the the Sun blew out the Indiana Fever on opening night, they did so again, except this time the stakes were a whole lot higher.
The Sun opened the playoffs with a 93-69 win over the Fever, taking a 1-0 lead into the first game of the postseason, a best-of-three series against one of the hottest young teams in the league.
DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas were key in the first half, but it was Marina Mabrey who blew things open — exploding for 27 points, 20 of which came in the second half. That sets a new record most points by any bench player in WNBA postseason history, per ESPN.
Defensively, the Sun began with DiJonai Carrington on Clark, switched to Bonner in the second quarter, and then to Mabrey in the third. Clark struggled in the postseason opener, finishing with just 11 points on 4-17 shooting.
Notably, Sun guard Ty Harris exited the game in the first quarter with an ankle sprain, and returned with crutches. Veronica Burton played increased minutes off the bench in her absence, adding 8 points in 19 minutes on 3-4 shooting.
Pregame, Sun head coach Stephanie White praised the Fever’s growth since the last time the two teams met, noting that everyone knew a turnaround was coming.
“The thing that’s made this Indiana team fun to watch for everybody is that they play with so much joy, right?” White said. “Like they’re young. They enjoy the game, they have fun together, and they don’t take things too seriously.”
The Fever were led by Kelsey Mitchell (21 points), Aliyah Boston (17 points) and Domaris Dantas (12 points).
Alyssa Thomas — the WNBA’s all-time triple-double leader — finished with another, recording a 13 assist, 12 point, 10 rebound triple-double.
“I think AT is always under-appreciated,” White said pregame. “I know that the numbers were incredible a year ago, but I think her versatility, what she what she means to a team, and whether it’s our team, whether it was the national team, and she was put in for defensive reasons, facilitating — just anything that she’s asked to do. She doesn’t care about the triple doubles, she doesn’t care about the MVP voting, she doesn’t care about any of that stuff. She cares about winning.”
The atmosphere at the arena was undeniably boisterous and seemed to favor whichever team had the upper hand at the time. Early on, the crowd — inundated with fans donning #22 Caitlin Clark jerseys exploded at Fever baskets, though by the time the Sun built up a double-digit lead, the atmosphere began to feel more like a typical home game, albeit still with a significant number of Indiana and Iowa fans.
The Sun will again host the Fever in the second game of the best-of-three first round on Wednesday, September 25th at the Mohegan Sun Arena. If they win that one, they’ll advance to semi-finals. A loss would send them to Indianapolis for a do-or-die Game 3.
