The Indiana Fever aren’t making any excuses about Sunday’s 93-69 loss to the Connecticut Sun during the first round of the WNBA Playoffs.
It wasn’t the playoff atmosphere or the pressure of the moment. The veteran Sun simply played better and beat the upstart Fever.
“I felt like we just played a crappy game,” Fever star guard Caitlin Clark said. “The flow of the game was really bad. I don’t know if that was reffing, it was probably partly us, because we struggled to get stops at times. … It was one thing after the next.
“We can win. It’s not anything about the building. It’s not about the gym. It’s not about the hoops. I have all the confidence in the world in this team, and everybody in our locker room does. I know we’ll be a lot better on Wednesday.”
Connecticut held Clark to just 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting, including 2-for-13 from 3. The All-WNBA guard added eight assists, four rebounds and three steals, but the Fever will need Clark to score to compete in this series. The Sun made a slight adjustment defensively, putting DeWanna Bonner as Clark’s primary defender instead of DiJonai Carrington. Clark scored 19 points in an 84-80 win during Indiana’s last game against Connecticut. That performance stuck with the Sun, and they made the necessary adjustments to slow down Clark.
Fever score: Caitlin Clark struggles with shooting, Fever drop Game 1 of playoffs to Sun, 93-69
“Just game planning, trying to come up with a strategy,” Bonner said of the Sun’s defense against Clark. “They beat us last time. We just took on the challenge. … I know next game (Clark will) come back. (Strong defense) is the only way we can win.”
Strong performances from Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston are usually enough for the Fever to overcome an off night from their rookie sensation. Mitchell scored a team-high 21 points and Boston added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Indiana’s Big 3 played admirably, but its supporting cast struggled. Fellow starters NyLssa Smith and Lexie Hull combined for five points and three turnovers. Hull was 0-for-2 from 3. Smith didn’t grab a single rebound in nine minutes.
While the Fever bench struggled, the Sun got a big boost from Marina Mabrey. Mabrey scored a game-high 27 points off the bench, adding three rebounds and three assists. The Fever didn’t have an answer for Mabrey, and their inability to score made it impossible for them to mount a comeback.
Despite the loss, the mood after the game wasn’t one of panic. The Fever don’t seem to be planning widespread changes and any drastic adjustments. Christie Sides is confident her team will play better. Down 0-1, they can’t afford to have another off night in a best-of-3 series.
“This is playoff basketball,” Sides said. “We’ve got to be able to handle it when it gets chaotic. We’ve got to be able to handle it when things aren’t going our way, when we need to slow it down and take a good shot.
“We’re going to run, we’re going to play with pace, that’s what we’re going to do. You got to get stops to do that. But that is where we are at our best. We had some great looks both in transition and also in the half court. We’re gonna figure it out. And we got another opportunity on Wednesday to come back and then take this thing home.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fever vs Sun: Fever believe they’ll rebound from Game 1 loss
