Caitlin Clark finishes with 20 points as Indiana falls to Connecticut in WNBA opener

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Caitlin Clark struggled early in her WNBA debut before finishing with 20 points as the Indiana Fever fell to the Connecticut Sun 92-71 on Tuesday night.

Alyssa Thomas led the Sun with 13 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, registering the 12th triple-double of her career. DeWanna Bonner added 20 points and DiJonai Carrington had 16. She also was a major reason for Clark’s early offensive struggles, hounding the guard.

The NCAA’s all-time Division I scoring leader, who finished the game 5 for 15 from the field, had 10 turnovers and went scoreless in the first quarter. She missed her first four shots before finally getting on the board midway through the second period.

Clark stole the ball around the foul line and drove the length of the court before laying the ball in. She later added two free throws and hit a 3-pointer with 29.9 seconds left in the first half to finish the opening 20 minutes with seven points, hitting two of her seven shot attempts. The Fever trailed 49-39 at the break.

The Fever got within 63-57 late in the third quarter on two free throws by Clark, but couldn’t get closer the rest of the way.

Clark did start heating up from the field, hitting four 3-pointers, including one from long range.

Moving up

Bonner moved into fifth on the WNBA’s career scoring list, moving ahead of former Phoenix Mercury teammate Candice Dupree. who finished her career with 6,895 points. Bonner passed Dupree on a layup midway through the third quarter. Bonner, who now has 6,901 points, raised her hands to the crowd after a timeout to acknowledge the accomplishment.

Return of Brionna

Brionna Jones played for the first time since rupturing her right Achilles tendon last June. The Sun’s All-Star center had eight points while playing just under 20 minutes.

Up next

Fever: Return to Indiana to play New York on Thursday in the team’s home opener

Sun: Host Washington on Friday.