– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT — Even with the force of nature that is Caitlin Clark coming to town to mark a historic moment in the WNBA, it was the Connecticut Sun’s quiet storm, forward Alyssa Thomas, who once again created shockwaves on the court during the most crucial time of the season.
Thomas spearheaded the Sun’s onslaught with her fourth career postseason triple-double as Connecticut spoiled Clark’s postseason debut with a 93-69 win over the Indiana Fever inside Mohegan Sun Arena in Game 1 of the two teams’ first-round best-of-three series in the WNBA Playoffs.
Thomas finished with 12 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds in 37 minutes, and the heightened significance of the game being in the postseason, as well as a good number of the fans inside the arena loudly cheering Clark’s every move while wearing Fever shirts only gave Thomas an extra edge in one-upping her fellow triple-double threat.
“I’ve been waiting all season for the playoffs. This is what you’re playing for,” said Thomas, who also opened the regular season with a triple-double while playing Indiana. “This is just the beginning for us. We’re ready to go.”
Mid-season acquisition Marina Mabrey, brought in to add a long-range threat to a team that ranked near the bottom of many three-point metrics during the season, scored 20 of her team-leading 27 points in the second half, including knocking down five of the Sun’s nine three-pointers. Three of those long-range shots came during a three-minute stretch in the third when the Sun went on a 13-4 run — soon after a Clark three cut Connecticut’s lead to six — to open up a 15-point lead that would not drop below double digits afterward.
Clark struggled throughout the first half, missing eight of her nine shots from the field and scored just three points. She bounced back to finish with 11 points and eight rebounds.
“We didn’t play well. We didn’t play to the level we’re capable of playing,” Clark said. “We didn’t shoot the ball like we’re capable of. We’re capable of winning this game.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Sunday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Erica Denhoff. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 58 pictures in total.
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