How Fever’s Caitlin Clark Performed In WNBA Playoff Debut Vs. CT Sun

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Caitlin Clark was back at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday to make her WNBA playoff debut against the Connecticut Sun.

Her first game in the league came at the same venue and Clark joked prior to the postseason contest she wanted to forget all about that poor showing. The superstar guard likely won't want to remember much from her playoff opener, either.

Clark never found her rhythm against one of the top defenses in the league and shot 4-for-17 from the field and 2-for-13 from 3-point range to finish with 11 points as the Sun ran away in the second half for a 93-69 win in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series. It was Clark's lowest scoring output in a game where she saw regular minutes since June 13. She also contributed eight assists, four rebounds and four steals.

Clark certainly was frustrated by her inability to provide a much greater impact in the game. Shortly after missing her eighth straight 3-pointer to begin the game, Clark slammed her hand a couple of times on the bench during an Indiana timeout.

The outburst from Clark seemed to get her going a little bit, though. She drilled her next two 3-point attempts sandwiched around a layup.

But Clark was largely ineffective for the contest. She couldn't find her long-range shooting stroke and Indiana's offense struggled because of it. Clark tallied just three points on 1-for-9 shooting from the field in the first half, including getting swatted by Sun forward DeWanna Bonner with a less than a minute left in the second quarter. Clark had a chance to go into the intermission on a positive note, but missed a wide open 3-pointer.

Connecticut's defense gets some credit for Clark's shooting woes. DiJonai Carrington, Bonner and Alyssa Thomas routinely pressured Clark to prevent easy drives to the basket and challenged her jump shots.

The Sun also were physical with Clark as the 6-foot guard took an inadvertent shot from Carrington 90 seconds into the game. Clark went down and was looked at by Indiana's training staff, but didn't miss any game action.

Clark, in desperate need of a bounce-back performance, will try keep the Fever's season alive when they face the Sun in Game 2 of the best-of-3 series on Wednesday. Tipoff from Mohegan Sun Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.