Sun hold Caitlin Clark to 10 points, rebound from first loss with win over Fever

Since news of Caitlin Clark being left off the USA women’s basketball team for the 2024 Paris Olympics was reported, one of the subsequent narratives from the Indiana Fever was that the snub “woke a monster.”

If that is indeed the case, the monster did not show up in Monday night’s matchup with the Connecticut Sun. Coming off their first defeat of the 2024 WNBA season, the Sun sought to rebound and did so with an 89–72 trouncing of the Fever.

Clark looked as if she might have had her WNBA breakout in her last game, hitting seven 3-pointers and scoring 30 points (tying a career-high) in a win over the Washington Mystics.

However, she couldn’t match that effort against Connecticut, finishing with 10 points on 3-for-8 shooting from the floor. That was her fourth-lowest scoring total of her rookie season.

Clark left the game with 4:41 remaining in the third quarter after drawing her fourth foul and stayed on the bench along with three other Fever starters, despite the crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena chanting, “We want Caitlin! We want Caitlin!” midway through the fourth quarter.

DiJonai Carrington finished with 22 points for the Sun, who improved to 10–1 on the season. She added six rebounds, three assists and three steals but drew some boos from the home crowd when she appeared to mock Clark for how she drew a foul.

Alyssa Thomas, who will be named to the USA Olympic squad, grabbed 18 rebounds with seven assists. And DeWanna Bonner scored 17 points, joining three other players in double figures. With her first 3-pointer for the night, Bonner moved into 10th place on the WNBA’s all-time list with 581. She shot 3-for-4 from behind the arc Monday.

The Fever was led by Aliyah Boston‘s 14 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Lexie Hull joined Clark with 10 points. Kelsey Mitchell and Erica Wheeler each finished with nine.

Indiana has lost all three of its games against Connecticut this season. The two teams will play one more time on Aug. 28.

The Sun next hit the road for a matchup with the Chicago Sky on Wednesday. With their loss, the Fever drop to 3–10 for the season and 2–5 on the road. Indiana will next host the Atlanta Dream on Thursday.