A record-breaking performance from Marina Mabry, playing in her first postseason for the Connecticut Suns, led the third-seeded Suns to a 93-69 win over sixth-seeded Indiana in Game 1 of the quarterfinals on Sunday.
Mabry came off the bench to score 27 points, a WNBA playoff record, on 9-of-20 shooting, including 5-of-12 from the 3-point line, but that might not have been the most impressive performance of Sunday, as Suns guard/forward Alyssa Thomas recorded her fourth postseason triple-double (12 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds).
Caitlin Clark scored 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting, including 2-of-13 from the 3-point line, for the Fever. She also had eight assists and committed just two turnovers. Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 21 points, and Aaliyah Boston added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
DeWanna Bonner scored 22 points and the Sun held Indiana to just 21.4 percent (6-of-28) 3-point shooting in the win. The Sun bench outscored Indiana’s bench 41-15.
Game 2 will be Wednesday at 7:30pm, again at Connecticut, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
DeWanna Bonner on Alyssa Thomas: ‘Every Year is Her Time’
Alyssa Thomas is known for her triple-doubles — she’s recorded 12 in her WNBA career — but what’s even more impressive, according to her teammates, is the games that happen in the playoffs that don’t even show up on the stat sheet.
Thomas recorded his fourth career postseason triple-double on Sunday, a feat the Connecticut Sun had been hoping for.
“She gets us where we need to be. It’s great to have a player like her who can read the game. I just go with what she says,” guard DeWanna Bonner said with a laugh. She added that for Thomas, the postseason is “her time every year. I don’t expect anything less than a triple-double.”
Marlena Mabry, who scored 27 points off the bench, also praised Thomas, saying that when they’re on the court together, Thomas “always finds me,” especially when Mabry is shooting hard from the perimeter, including hitting 5 of 12 3-pointers on Sunday.
Plus: “Now’s the time to marvel”: A’ja Wilson’s greatness on display as A’s seek third straight WNBA title
Read more: WNBA postseason preview: Strengths and weaknesses of the eight playoff teams
Alyssa Thomas records a triple-double
Alyssa Thomas prides herself on doing a little bit of everything for the Connecticut Sun, and on Sunday, in the opening game of the 2024 playoffs, Thomas did just that.
The veteran guard/forward recorded his fourth postseason triple-double (and 12th overall, including regular-season games) with 12 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
Early Sunday morning, the WNBA announced that Thomas finished fifth in 2024 MVP voting behind the Fever’s Kaitlyn Clark. A’ja Wilson won her third MVP award. Napheesa Collier finished second in the voting and Breanna Stewart was third.
Caitlin Clark has a black eye
Early in the first quarter, Caitlin Clark started to develop a black eye after being accidentally poked in the eye by DiJonai Carrington.
No foul was called on the play, and Clark was on the ground for a few minutes clutching his eye, but wasted no time getting back in the game.
End of 3rd quarter: Connecticut 68, Indiana 57
Caitlin Clark finally made her first 3-pointer and then her second shortly after, but the Fever couldn’t close the gap against an experienced Connecticut Sun team. The Sun led 68-57.
Before Sunday, Connecticut had played in the playoffs 222 times in franchise history, while Indiana had played just 19. That experience showed in the quarter as the Suns built a 15-point lead, much of it thanks to strong shooting from Marina Mabry, who had 11 points in the third quarter, including nine on three 3-pointers.
Alyssa Thomas had 12 points, nine assists and nine rebounds through the fourth quarter, coming within a triple-double of her own.
Clark made two 3-pointers and now has 11 points, six assists and two steals.
Halftime: Connecticut 46, Indiana 38
We’re officially on the lookout for an Alyssa Thomas triple-double.
The versatile veteran from Connecticut already had 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists, helping the Suns to their largest lead of the game, 46-38, by halftime.
Meanwhile, Connecticut’s DeWanna Bonner scored a team-high 16 points and plagued Caitlin Clark’s shooting start, who was 1-of-9 from the field and 0-of-6 from 3-point range, with four assists and no turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 11 points, while Aaliyah Boston had eight points and five rebounds.
It’s a close game with five lead changes and six ties already. One of the biggest differences so far is that Connecticut has scored 11 points off seven Indiana turnovers, while the Fever has not scored a single point off the Sun’s five turnovers.
Ty Harris will miss the remainder of Game 1
University of Connecticut guard Ty Harris, who suffered a severe right ankle sprain midway through the first quarter, will not return for Game 1 on Sunday.
After stepping on Lexi Hull’s foot, Harris was helped off the court and headed straight for the locker room, where she returned to the bench on crutches early in the second quarter with her ankle still heavily bandaged.
In her absence, Marina Mabry will likely see more playing time and take on the starting role in the second half.
ABC aired footage of her putting on the boots with about four minutes left in the game.
End of 1st quarter: Connecticut 23, Indiana 20
After an eventful and intense first quarter, Connecticut Sun took a 23-20 lead against Indiana Fever thanks to the strong play of Dewanna Bonner, who already had 10 points.
Both teams moved the ball well, combining for 12 assists on 16 made field goals.
Connecticut led 14-8 in points in the paint and scored eight points on the fast break to Indiana’s zero.
Caitlin Clark scored three points on a difficult layup and one of two free throws.
Caitlin Clark scores first point of WNBA playoff career
Clarke sprinted down the right side of the court, made her way to the basket and finished with a difficult reverse layup for her first points of the WNBA postseason, scoring with 3:16 left in the first quarter to tie the score at 16-16.
Ty Harris twists ankle, Sun goes down
Suns starter Ty Harris, a guard from Connecticut who averaged 10.5 points and 3.0 assists during the regular season, was helped to the bench after suffering a right ankle injury with 6:16 left in the first quarter.
Harris took a dive to contest a 3-pointer by Indiana’s Lexi Hull and landed on Hull’s foot, severely spraining her right ankle. She immediately returned to the locker room, and ABC reported she was questionable to return.
Indiana Fever vs Connecticut Sun
The Fever travel to the Sun on Sunday for Game 1 of a best-of-three first-round playoff series.
What time is Game 1 between Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun?
The match time is 3pm
How to watch Indiana Fever on the Connecticut Sun
The game will be broadcast on ABC and will be available on demand after the game on WNBA League Pass, which fans can obtain by downloading the WNBA app.
How to stream Indiana Fever on the Connecticut Sun
The game will be streamed on Fubo.
Liberty smashes Dream 83-69 in WNBA playoff opener
Thanks to rookie Leonie Fiebic’s 21 points, the New York Liberty easily won Game 1 of their series against Atlanta on Sunday, defeating the Dream 83-69 to take a 1-0 lead in the three-game series.
Fiebich, a German rookie who played for Germany at this summer’s Olympics in Paris, made 7 of 8 field goals, including 4 of 4 3-pointers. Sabrina Ionescu scored 17 points and Breanna Stewart recorded a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
New York guard Courtney VanderSloot, one of the WNBA’s best passers, passed 13-time All-Star Sue Bird, who played 19 seasons with Seattle, to lead the league in playoff assists throughout her career. VanderSloot had three assists Sunday, raising her playoff assist total to 365.
Rhyne Howard led the Dream with 14 points.
The teams will meet again in Game 2 on Tuesday in New York at 7:30 pm ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Suns Game 1 starting lineup
Fever’s Game 1 starting lineup
Indiana Fever vs Connecticut Sun postseason schedule
Sunday, Game 1: Indiana vs. Connecticut (3 p.m., ABC)Wednesday, Game 2: Indiana vs. Connecticut (7:30 p.m., ESPN)Friday, Game 3*: Connecticut vs. Indiana (TBD, ESPN 2)
(* – where appropriate, all times are Eastern Standard Time)
WNBA Postseason Schedule
Sunday:
Game 1: New York 83, Atlanta 69Game 1: Connecticut 93, Indiana 69Game 1: Phoenix vs Minnesota (5 p.m., ESPN)Game 1: Seattle vs Las Vegas (10 p.m., ESPN)
Tuesday:
Game 2: Atlanta vs. New York (7:30 p.m., ESPN)Game 2: Seattle vs. Las Vegas (9:30 p.m., ESPN)
Wednesday:
Game 2: Indiana vs. Connecticut (7:30 p.m., ESPN)Game 2: Phoenix vs. Minnesota (9:30 p.m., ESPN)
Thursday:
Game 3*: New York vs. Atlanta (TBD, ESPN 2)Game 3*: Las Vegas vs. Seattle (TBD, ESPN 2)
Friday:
Game 3*: Connecticut vs. Indiana (TBD, ESPN 2)Game 3*: Minnesota vs. Phoenix (TBD, ESPN 2)
(* – where appropriate, all times are Eastern Standard Time)
Indiana Fever vs. Connecticut Sun: USA Today reporters’ predictions
Nancy Armour: 2nd “Sun Beats Heat” Scooby Axson: 2nd “Sun Beats Heat” Ellen J. Hollow: 3rd “Sun Beats Heat” Jordan Mendoza: 3rd “Sun Beats Heat” Lindsay Schnell: 2nd “Sun Beats Heat”
For further forecasts and analysis, please see here.
Caitlin Clark finished fourth in MVP voting
A’ja Wilson won her third MVP award on Sunday, joining Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson in winning the award for the third time. Wilson joins Cynthia Cooper (1997) as the only players to be selected unanimously. The Las Vegas Aces star is the first WNBA player to achieve this honor while leading the league in points, rebounds and blocks.
Caitlin Clark, who is expected to handily win Rookie of the Year, finished fourth in the voting behind Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx and Breanna Stewart of the Aces.
Caitlin Clark has broken WNBA records. Multiple times.
The Fever rookie has been making waves all summer with her eye-popping play, so take a look back at her accomplishments in this graphic.
How Kaitlyn Clark changed the game for Lexi Halle
Like most WNBA fans, Lexi Hull consumes a lot of Kaitlyn Clark content.
If Clark breaks a record, says something funny, or sneezes, Hal notices.
But when Hall, Clark and Katie Lou Samuelson took a much-needed beach vacation to Mexico with their boyfriends (and in Samuelson’s case, husbands) during the WNBA Olympic break, Hall learned something new about Clark.
The No. 1 draft pick in 2024 and the overwhelming favorite to win Rookie of the Year is…interesting.
He’s even goofy. He likes to play pranks.
“She definitely loves to cause trouble. If you need a laugh, she’ll give it to you,” Hull told USA Today Sports. Read the full story here.
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