The big ones always answer.
Caitlin Clark struggled in her first game of the WNBA playoffs last Sunday: 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting, including 2-of-13 from three-point range, and Indiana got crushed. How would Clark react as her team faces elimination?
Clark finished Game 2 with 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds. She bounced back. As great players always do.
It was not enough.
Connecticut’s depth and stifling defense once again proved too much – especially in the decisive moments when Connecticut got stops and hit three straight three-pointers – and the Sun advanced with an 87-81 victory.
The win sends Connecticut into the semifinals starting this weekend. This is the sixth consecutive year the Suns have reached at least the semifinals, an impressive run of high-level consistency. This game sends Clark and the Fever home until next year (leaving the playoffs without a home game). Clark had said previously that because the college season runs almost directly into the WNBA season, she hasn’t had a real break for about a year and isn’t going to play competitively this winter. After the game, she said she didn’t know what her plans were.
The Fever entered this postseason with five starters who had never started a WNBA playoff game before. Indiana learned some tough lessons against Connecticut, which poses a threat to advance, perhaps to the Finals, because of its league-leading defense.
It was also a learning curve for Caitlin Clark — Connecticut threw her different defensive looks all night, different defenders and schemes, and it was a chess game for her trying to figure it out.
To her credit, even when her three-pointers weren’t falling (3 of 12), she found a way to impact the offense, with Clark’s drives and passes leading the Fever’s attack Wednesday night. However, she and fellow guard Kelsey Mitchell played a full 40 minutes — without a single break — and it started to show by the end, as they both looked a little winded.
It also felt like a playoff game, with things getting a little tense between Clark and DeWanna Bonner (Clark was also arguing with a fan in the first quarter; a security guard went over to talk to him).
Clark made his first open 3-pointer of the game, but the game was tight early, with Indiana shooting 4-of-12 and Connecticut 1-of-12, allowing the Fever to open up an early nine-point lead.
However, it didn’t take long for Connecticut to rally with their league-best defense, get a couple of transition buckets and a Mabry 3-pointer, and go on an 11-0 run that not only gave them back the lead, but also made it 17-14 after one quarter.
That run extended to 20-2 as the Sun’s swarming but disciplined defense began to frustrate the Fever – Connetticult had a double-digit lead midway through the second period.
The Suns led 41-34 at halftime despite shooting just 36.6 percent (the Fever were at 32.4 percent). Marina Mabrey led a balanced Suns attack with nine points at halftime, while Clark had 14 on 5-of-12 shooting to lead the Fever.
Fever entered the third and scored seven straight points to tie it, with Clark scoring or assisting on every point. Indiana even took the lead midway through the third on a transition layup by Hull.
That’s where Connecticut’s depth, defense and playoff poise showed: They withstood the run, kept playing their game and by the end of the third quarter, the Sun were back up by nine points, 61-52.
That’s when Indiana went on a 12-2 run, and when Clark made a leaning 3-pointer with 3:58 left, the Fever took a 71-70 lead.
From there, it was Connecticut’s decisive play and defense that made the difference. Alyssa Thomas also took a step forward as a five-time All-Star does and led the Sun with 19 points, while Marina Mabrey added 17, including the dagger.
The Suns were simply the best team in this series and deserved to qualify. They can play any team in the W.
The future looks bright for Indiana: All great players have had to learn how to win at the highest level and wait for the right team to be built around them. That’s the case with Jordan, LeBron, Curry and everyone else.
You can add Clark to that list.
Fever fans should be excited about the future.
