The Sun Won Game 2 To Eliminate Caitlin Clark And The Fever From The WNBA Playoffs

On Tuesday evening, two teams punched their tickets to the WNBA semifinals, as the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces completed sweeps in their respective first round series. On Wednesday, the Connecticut Sun got in on the fun, as they were able to complete their 2-0 series victory over the Indiana Fever with a wildly entertaining, 87-81 win.

The Fever started the game on fire, racing out to a 14-6 lead and locking in on both sides of the floor. But over the final 3:05 of the first, Connecticut was able to get into a groove. The shots started falling, which let them set their defense, which knocked Indiana completely out of the rhythm that it found early in the game.

As a result, the Sun were able to close the period out on an 11-0 run, and took a 17-14 lead into the second.

Connecticut continued its run to kick off the second quarter, as they got their lead up to as many as 10 points by starting things off with a 9-2 spurt. And while Indiana was able to settle in after that and keep the Sun from going into the locker room at halftime with an even bigger lead, they struggled to hit shots or get out and run. It meant Connecticut found itself with a 41-34 lead at the break, with all seven players who took the floor scoring at least four points, led by nine from Marina Mabrey. For the Fever, Caitlin Clark’s 14 points, four rebounds, and four assists led the way, while Aliyah Boston had a near double-double with eight points and 11 boards.

The start of the third quarter felt awfully similar to the start of the game. With their backs against the wall, Indiana ripped off the first seven points of the period, with Clark scoring or assisting on each of the first three buckets.

And yet, even though the Fever were able to briefly take a 1-point lead midway through the frame, Connecticut had a response. The Sun closed the third on a 14-4 run, with 10 of those points scored by Alyssa Thomas, and put themselves right on the verge of the semis with a 61-52 lead after three.

Connecticut looked like it had an answer whenever Indiana would try to mount a charge in the early part of the fourth, but eventually, the Fever got into a groove. The team went on a 12-2 stretch midway through the frame, which was capped off by a triple from Clark that put them up, 71-70.

Mabrey came right back down and hit a three to put the Sun back into the lead, only for Temi Fagbenle to convert a layup to tie things back up.

The two teams continued to go back-and-forth down the stretch, but back-to-back empty possession by Indiana proved to be too much. After a DeWanna Bonner three with just under two minutes to go to take a 1-point lead, the Fever could not find an answer, and a made three by Mabrey with 46 seconds left put things just out of reach for the remainder of the game.

Five players for the Sun scored in double-figures, with Thomas leading the way due to her 19-point, 13-rebound outing. Mabrey had 17 points, Bonner had 15, and both Dijonai Carrington and Veronica Burton had 10. For the Fever, Clark stuffed the stat sheet with 25 points, nine assists, and six rebounds, while Kelsey Mitchell went for 17 and Boston put up a 16-point, 19-rebound performance.

Connecticut will now sit and wait to see which team it’ll take on in the semifinals, as they’ll take on either the Minnesota Lynx or the Phoenix Mercury. Minnesota currently leads the series, 1-0.