Sun take playoff opener over Fever 93-69, with 27 points from ‘Money’ Mabrey

Sep. 22—MOHEGAN — When Marina Mabrey hits a shot at Mohegan Sun Arena, the sound of a cash register can be heard playing over the loudspeaker in honor of Mabrey’s nickname, “Money.”

And so Sunday as Mabrey boiled over in the second half to finish with 27 points in the Connecticut Sun’s playoff opener, part of an overall highlight reel for the Sun in a 93-69 victory over the Indiana Fever, the “cha-ching” sound effect rang frequently.

Mabrey, who subbed in when starting point guard Ty Harris suffered a right ankle injury in the first quarter, finished 9-for-20, 5-for-12 from 3-point range and set the postseason WNBA record for most points by a player off the bench.

“It’s just like every time she shoots a shot, I think it’s going in and every time she has the ball in her hand, she’s a threat,” Sun head coach Stephanie White said of Mabrey, acquired by the Sun on July 17 in a trade with the Chicago Sky.

“So you have to make sure you have an eye on her and most of the time you’re guarding her with two people and sometimes three. She was huge for us. She’s going to continue to be big for us. Certainly the opportunity for us to bring her on was one we took because we thought she would get us over the hump.”

DeWanna Bonner added 22 points, six rebounds and five assists for the third-seeded Sun, playing before a sold-out crowd of 8,910, and Alyssa Thomas had a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, the unprecedented 15th triple-double of her career and fourth overall in the postseason.

DiJonai Carrington added 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and a monster block.

Kelsey Mitchell finished with 21 points for No. 6 Indiana, making its first playoff appearance since 2016, and Aliyah Boston had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Caitlin Clark, Indiana’s heralded rookie, had 11 points and eight assists, but shot 4-for-17 overall, 2-for-13 from 3-point range, guarded predominantly by Bonner.

The teams will meet for Game 2 at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Mohegan Sun, with the Sun getting the opportunity to sweep the best-of-three series. Game 3, if necessary, would be played Friday in Indianapolis.

Connecticut, with its league-best eighth straight playoff berth, reached the WNBA semifinals last year before falling to the New York Liberty.

Mabrey, who had seven points in the first half, scored 11 in the second quarter and was part of a spectacular sequence in the fourth quarter which saw her score nine straight points on two 3-pointers and a three-point play.

“I really just do what the team asks me to do,” Mabrey said. “Whether I come off the bench or I start, I’ll still be the same player. … Just my teammates finding me. (Thomas) is like a triple-double machine. So she always finds me.”

It was in the midst of Mabrey’s scoring frenzy that Thomas grabbed her 10th rebound of the game with 6:20 remaining, giving her the triple-double.

Bonner said that Thomas’s ability to read the game and see the floor is uncanny, calling the postseason Thomas’s time of year — “Every year, this is her time,” Bonner said. “I don’t expect anything less, honestly.”

Thomas didn’t argue about wanting to bring things to another level.

“I’ve been waiting all season for playoffs,” said Thomas, the five-time All-Star forward/Olympian in her 11th season with the Sun. “This is what you’re playing for and, yeah, this is just the beginning for us, Game 1.

“We’re ready to go. It’s just exciting to see what we brought to the table tonight. We’re all hungry. We’re ready, ready for Game 2.”

Bonner had 16 points in the first half, fouled while shooting a 3-point field goal with 11.4 seconds remaining in the second quarter and hitting all three foul shots for a 46-38 lead.

Clark shot 1-for-9 in the half, 0-for-6 from 3-point range for three points. Mitchell led the Fever with 11.

In the third quarter, after the Fever pulled within 48-43 on a 3-pointer by Mitchell, the Sun forged a double-digit lead when Mabrey went on a 3-point spree, hitting back-to-back shots from long range with 6:06 to play, pulling up for the second one on the fast break.

By the time Mabrey hit her third 3 of the third quarter at the 3:51 mark, the Sun led 65-50 for their biggest margin of the game to that point.

“I felt like I got good shots,” said Indiana’s Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, who draws a horde of No. 22 Fever jerseys at each arena in which she plays. “They just didn’t go down. Obviously a tough time for that to happen.

“But like coach (Christie Sides) said in the locker room, we were down three in the first quarter, down five second quarter and then lost by three in the third. Like, we’re right there and I felt like we just played a crappy game. … My shot felt right there and that’s why it’s so frustrating.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com