The great ones always respond.
Caitlin Clark struggled in her first WNBA playoff game last Sunday: 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting, including 2-of-13 from 3, and Indiana got blown out. How would Clark respond with her team facing elimination.
Clark finished Game 2 with 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds — she bounced back. Like the greats always do.
It wasn’t enough.
Connecticut’s depth and suffocating defense proved too much again — particularly in the clutch when Connecticut got stops and hit three consecutive 3-pointers — and the Sun advanced with an 87-81 win.
That victory advances Connecticut to the semifinals starting this weekend — this is six straight years the Sun have made it to at least the semifinals, an impressive streak of high-level consistency. The game sends Clark and the Fever home until next year (exiting the playoffs without a home game). Clark had said previously that because the college season runs almost straight into the WNBA season she hasn’t had a real break for about a year and she was not 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 hard lessons in the face of Connecticut, which is a threat to advance, maybe all the way to the Finals, because of their league-best defense.
It’s was also a learning curve for Caitlin Clark — Connecticut threw different defensive looks at her all night long, different defenders and systems, and it was a chess match for her trying to figure it out.
To her credit, even when her 3s were not falling (3-of-12) she found a way to impact the offense, her Clark’s drives and passing led the Fever offense Wednesday night. However, she and backcourt mate Kelsey Mitchell played a full 40 minutes — not one break — and it started to show late as they both seemed a little gassed.
It also felt like a playoff game, with things getting a little chippy between Clark and DeWanna Bonner (Clark also was jawing with a fan in the first quarter, one security went and spoke to).
Clark hit her first open 3 of the game, but it was tight early as Indiana opened the game 4-of-12 shooting, Connecticut 1-of-12, which allowed the Fever to open up an early nine-point lead.
However, it didn’t take long for Connecticut to clamp down with its league-best defense, get some transition buckets and a Mabry 3, and go on an 11-0 run that not only got them the lead back but had them up 17-14 after one quarter.
That run extended out to 20-2 as the swarming but disciplined Sun defense started to frustrate the Fever — Connetticult had the lead up to double-digits midway through the second.
The Sun led 41-34 at the half despite shooting just 36.6% (the Fever were at 32.4%). Marina Mabrey led a balanced Sun attack with nine points at the half, while Clark had 14 on 5-of-12 shooting to lead the Fever.
Fever came out in third and scored seven straight to tie it, with Clark scoring or assisting on each point. Indiana even took the lead midway through third on Hull transition layup.
This is where the depth, defense and playoff poise of Connecticut came through — they withstood the run, kept playing their game, and by the end of the third quarter the Sun were back up nine, 61-52.
That’s when Indiana went on a 12-2 run, and when Clark drained a leaning 3 with 3:58 left the Fever took the lead 71-70.
From there on in, it was the clutch play and defense of Connecticut that was the difference. Alyssa Thomas also stepped up the way a five-time All-Star does and led the Sun with 19 points, while Marina Mabrey added 17 including the dagger.
The Sun were simply the better team this series and deserve to advance. They can play with anybody in the W.
The future is bright for Indiana — all the greats had to learn how to win at the highest level, and wait for the right team to be built around them. True of Jordan, LeBron, Curry and everyone else.
You can add Clark to that list.
Fever fans should be excited about the future.