AP Photo – Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, left, takes a shot through the defense of Connecticut Suns guard Veronica Barton during a first-round WNBA basketball playoff game on Wednesday in Uncasville, Connecticut.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Alyssa Thomas had 19 points and 13 assists and the Connecticut Sun beat Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever 87-81 to stay out of the playoff picture on Wednesday night.
The third-seeded Suns will face either Minnesota or Phoenix in the semifinals, which begin Sunday.
Clark played much better in Game 2 than she did in her postseason debut on Sunday. The AP Rookie of the Year finished with 25 points and nine assists, but it wasn’t enough. Aliyah Boston added 16 points and 19 rebounds.
Boston hit a layup with 2:05 left to put Indiana up 77-75, but DeWanna Bonner, playing in her 82nd playoff game, tying Lindsay Whalen for the WNBA record, answered with a 3-pointer 14 seconds later.
Neither team could score on the next few attempts, but Marina Mabry drained a 3-pointer from the wing with 45.5 seconds left to give the Sun an 81-77 lead.
On the Fever’s next attempt, Kelsey Mitchell missed a three-point shot, and the Suns sealed the game with a free throw.
Trailing by seven at halftime, the Fever scored the first seven points of the third quarter to tie the score. Both teams scored points until a Lexi Hull layup midway through the third quarter gave the Fever a 48-47 lead.
But that momentum didn’t last long, as Thomas took control, finishing the quarter with 10 points on a 14-4 run.
Clark’s three-pointer with 3:59 left gave the Fever a 71-70 lead, and both teams scored points after that until Bonner’s three-pointer.
Indiana got off to a fast start and led 14-6 before the Sun scored the final 11 points of the first quarter to pull within three. After a foul with 1 minute, 29 seconds left in the first quarter, Clark pointed out a fan sitting in the second row to the referee, who called security and escorted the fan to the back. The fan later returned without further incident.
The momentum continued in the second half, as Connecticut took a 26-16 lead on a layup by Carrington with 7:32 left in the first half. The Sun led 41-34 at halftime. Before the game, Carrington was honored as the league’s Most Valuable Player.
On the final play of the first half, Erica Wheeler attempted a layup at the buzzer and it flew into a courtside photographer. She was down for a few minutes before getting up and walking back to the locker room. She had her left thumb examined and did not return for the second half.
Clark finished the first half with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.
The Suns were without starting guard Tayshia Harris, who injured her ankle in Sunday’s win, and Mabrey started in her place.
IOWA CITY — General admission seating for the 2024-25 University of Iowa women’s basketball season is sold out.
