Connecticut rallies down the stretch and hangs on for the victory.
Uncasville, CT (September 25, 2024)- Tonight, the Connecticut Sun (28-12, 2-0) defeated the Indiana Fever (20-20, 0-2), 87-81, in Game 2 of the First Round of the WNBA Playoffs. With the win, the Sun win the best-of-three first round series, 2-0, and advance to the WNBA Semifinals for the sixth consecutive season.
Alyssa Thomas led the way for Connecticut with a double-double, notching 19 points, 13 assists, five rebounds and one steal in the win. The outing marked her second straight game this postseason with 13 assists and her 22nd career postseason double-double, which is good for third all-time in WNBA playoff history, tying Sylvia Fowles. Thomas played all 40 minutes in tonight’s game, notching her 10th career postseason game doing so.
Four other Sun players finished in double-figures in tonight’s win. Marina Mabrey notched 17 points, two rebounds, a postseason career-high six assists and two blocks. DeWanna Bonner added 15 points, a team-high eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.
DiJonai Carrington, the 2024 KIA WNBA Most Improved Player, finished with 10 points, four rebounds, one assist and two steals. Veronica Burton provided a spark off the bench, tying her postseason career high with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes of action.
The Sun shot 41.7% (30-72) while the Fever shot 43.4% (33-76) from the field on the night. Indiana held the advantage in the paint (48-40) and on the fast break (19-9), but Connecticut won the second chance point battle (11-6) and points from the bench (18-6).
Caitlin Clark led the Fever in scoring with 25 points, six rebounds, nine assists, one steal and one block. Kelsey Mitchel and Aliyah Boston had 17 points and 16 points respectively. Boston also grabbed 19 rebounds in the game, becoming the first player in WNBA postseason history to achieve that stat since Rebekkah Brunson on September 24, 2015.
Game Runs:
1H: The Sun trailed the Fever, 10-4, heading into the first media timeout of the contest. Connecticut started the contest missing their first seven field goal attempts and just 1/11 (9.1%) with 4:51 to play in the first quarter. The Sun finished the first on a 13-4 run to take a 17-14 lead into the second. Connecticut pushed their lead to 10, 26-16, but Indiana closed it to six, 26-20, heading into the first media timeout of the second. Connecticut was able to finish the half outscoring Indiana by one, 15-14, to take a seven-point advantage into the locker room, 41-34.
2H: A 7-0 start to the second half from Indiana tied the game, 41-41, with 8:19 to play in the third quarter. Another 7-6 spurt by the Fever gave them a one-point lead, 48-47, but the Sun went on a 10-2 run to push the advantage back to seven, 57-50, with 2:03 to play in the third. Connecticut was able to control the third, 20-18, to take a nine-point lead into the fourth, 61-52. The Fever began the fourth on an 11-7 run to cut the Sun’s lead to five, 68-63, forcing the Sun into a timeout with 5:59 to play in the fourth.
The game was tied 73-73 with 2:54 to play in the fourth, but the two teams traded baskets, with the Fever leading 77-75 with two minutes left. A pair of three-pointers from DeWanna Bonner and Marina Mabrey put the Sun up four, 81-77, with 46.7 seconds to go in the game. Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell missed a three-pointer on the other end and DiJonai Carrington sank two free throws on the other end to extend the advantage to six, 83-77, with 38.0 seconds on the clock. Both teams scored four more points to close out the game, with the Sun taking the 87-81 win.
Notes:
- DeWanna Bonner moved into first all-time in games played in WNBA postseason history, tying Lindsay Whalen (82 games).
- Alyssa Thomas moved into 23rd all-time in scoring (644) and 16th all-time in field goals made (270) in WNBA postseason history in tonight’s win.
- Olivia Nelson-Ododa finished with eight points, six rebounds, one steal and two blocks in 24 minutes of play off the bench.
- The Fever outrebounded the Sun, 43-29, while the Sun out-assisted the Fever, 25-21. Connecticut forced Indiana into 16 turnovers, results in 14 points for the Sun. The Sun committed just eight turnovers on the night, resulting in seven points for the Fever.
| Team | Score | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | PTS | REB | AST |
| CON | 87 | 17 | 24 | 20 | 26 | Thomas- 19 | Bonner- 8 | Thomas- 13 |
| IND | 81 | 14 | 20 | 18 | 29 | Clark- 25 | Boston- 19 | Clark- 9 |
NEXT GAME: The No. 3 seed Connecticut Sun will advance to the WNBA Semifinals to take on either the No. 2 seed Minnesota or No. 6 seed Phoenix Mercury on Sunday, September 29.