Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever suffered defeat in their opening playoff game against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday night.
Clark, who was named WNBA Rookie of the Year earlier in the day, came unstuck in her first playoff appearance up in the big leagues as the Fever were beaten 93-69 by the Sun.
The 22-year-old was restricted to just 11 points, eight assists and four rebounds in the game as she struggled to make her usual impact against an inspired Connecticut.
Marina Mabrey’s incredible 27-point haul off the bench propelled the hosts to victory in Game 1 of this first round playoff series, with the second to come on Wednesday night.
The Sun’s Alyssa Thomas also had the 15th triple-double of her career to spoil Clark’s playoff debut, finishing with 12 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds – going down as her fourth postseason triple-double.
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever lost their opening playoff game to the Connecticut Sun
Kelsey Mitchell scored 21 points and Aliyah Boston added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana.
The Sun came into the contest with 222 playoff games under their belt while the Fever had just 19, including none among the starters. This was Indiana’s first appearance in the playoffs since 2016. Connecticut head coach Stephanie White was in charge of the Fever that year.
Earlier in the day, the worst kept secret in women’s basketball was finally confirmed as Clark was named Rookie of the Year.
After bringing millions of eyes to the WNBA in her rookie campaign, the former Iowa star was given the award on Sunday morning.
Clark averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and led the league in assists with 8.4 per game in the regular season. The rookie sensation also led the Indiana Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016.
Before being crowned, she was in a head-to-head race with college rival Angel Reese, whose first WNBA season ended early due to a wrist injury.
Clark scored just 11 points as the Fever came unstuck on her long-awaited playoff debut
Marina Mabrey produced an incredible 27-point haul off the bench for the Sun
While Clark deservingly got the crown over a stacked class of newcomers, her fans fumed over No 1 overall pick not being named league MVP.
Before announcing the Rookie of the Year winner, the WNBA revealed that Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson won the MVP award for the third time and became the second player to do so unanimously.
However, after an X (Twitter) page dedicated to Clark posted the final tally, her fans took to the comment section to express their disappointment.
‘Cc should have won,’ one fan claimed. ‘They need to redefine the award . Most valuable player who tf is more valuable then Caitlin.
‘Aja is on a stacked team,’ the fan added. ‘Caitlin turned a franchise around in one season. Sh*t she turned the whole league around.’
