Connecticut Sun face ‘scary’ Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark after win at New York: How to watch, what to know

UNCASVILLE — It had been more than two calendar years since the last time the Connecticut Sun beat the New York Liberty in the regular season, but when the team secured a 72-64 win over its Eastern Conference rival on Saturday, it was a badly needed boost of confidence.

Connecticut’s 4-1 start to the second half of the season has included some underwhelming performances against teams below .500. There was a loss at Atlanta, less than 70 points against the L.A. Sparks, a down-to-the-wire win over the Chicago Sky. But the Sun also keep finding ways to win, ending a slate of five games in nine days with a victory over the No. 1 team in the league on the road at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

“Especially heading into playoffs, they’re the team to beat right now, and they’re the team that we know, when it comes down to it, could be a finals matchup,” Sun guard Veronica Burton said. “Those are the types of teams we need to be able to beat in order to achieve our goal of the championship. Especially back-to-back, I think that was really impressive and we’re just hoping to build off of it.”

But the Sun have no opportunity to relax coming out of the statement win as they head back on the road to face a rapidly rising Indiana Fever squad at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

On paper, the Fever (14-16) shouldn’t be a serious threat. Connecticut is 3-0 in 2024 against the seventh-place team in the league, and the Sun (22-7) officially clinched their playoff berth with the win at New York. But coach Stephanie White knows that the team the Sun routed 92-71 in its season opener looks very different from the team they will face this week.

“We’ve got a tough Indiana team that we’re coming up against that plays with great pace and that is absolutely scary,” White said. “We’re got to make sure that, while we’re working on us, we’re also preparing for them. Every game matters, every opponent and every opportunity to step on the floor. Seeding is important, so we’re just trying to balance out the rest and preparation and use the few days that we have.”

Rookie superstar Caitlin Clark, who was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday, has taken her game to another level since the Olympic break. She has averaged 25 points, five rebounds and nine assists per game over the Fever’s first four games back, all of which are up significantly from her numbers in the first half of the season. Clark is one of three Indiana starters with less than three years experience in the WNBA, and they have also grown dramatically as a unit since a sloppy Week 1 performance in Connecticut.

The Fever are 3-1 in August with their only loss against the Minnesota Lynx, the No. 1 team in the Western Conference. Veteran star Kelsey Mitchell has scored 20-plus points in four consecutive games including a season-high 29 against Atlanta on Monday, and 2023 No. 1 draft pick Aliyah Boston is averaging a double-double plus 4.3 assists since the break.

“They’re hot right now, and I think you really see them gelling more and obviously just getting more comfortable with each other,” Burton said. “They really like playing fast, so our job on the defensive end is to take them out of what they like to do and then push the pace on the offensive end … I think just us controlling the game, us seeing their pressures and dictating the flow of it will be a big thing.”

The Sun, meanwhile, had a very different Olympic break with stars Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner in Paris during the Games. Connecticut had to attempt to integrate former Chicago Sky standout Marina Mabrey into a system missing its centerpieces after a rare midseason trade, and it sent two of its most veteran guards to the Sky in exchange. Ninth-year guard Tiffany Mitchell also still has not rejoined the team since the break due to an undisclosed illness, so Connecticut is spending the first games back from the break trying to put pieces together on the fly.

But amid the chaos, the Sun’s calling card has remained the same: They find ways to win.

“It’s just being ready to adapt and adjust, and I think our coaches have done a great job of seeing the game and seeing what’s happening and then recognizing like, okay, this is working. This isn’t working,” Burton said. “Having such a veteran group really helps us too, because we’re able to communicate what we feel needs to change and what we feel we can do better. Even at halftime or timeouts, I think we’re really verbal and really active at listening to one another, just voicing what we’re comfortable with and what needs to change. ”

How to watch

Site: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis

Team records: Sun 22-7; Sparks 6-24

Time: 7 p.m., Wednesday

Last meeting: 89-72, Connecticut; June 10 in Uncasville

TV: NBC Sports Boston (local only)

Streaming: WNBA League Pass