UNCASVILLE, Conn. Approximately seven minutes remained in Wednesday’s 87-81 Game 2 playoff defeat for the Indiana Fever, when forward Temi Fagbenle tried to contain Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun. However, the seasoned player for the Sun poked the ball free, and by the time Fagbenle got it back, she didn’t realize there was going to be a shot-clock violation. Nope, said Thomas, waving her index finger.
At the time, the Fever trailed by nine points in the contest with do-or-die implications, and the Sun were expanding the lead. Fagbenle dished back-to-back assists to teammate Damiris Dantas and another Kelsey Mitchell basket trimmed the deficit to five points, so the Fever were in contention. But to some surprise, Dantas got subbed out with six minutes left, not Fagbenle.
After everything was said and done, Caitlin Clark and the Fever were swept by the Sun, sending the dynamic rookie and her squad home early.
Clark described the situation as “tough, especially since we climbed all the way back in and definitely had our opportunities late.” “The worst part of it sometimes is a few separate missteps. It seems like you’re playing some of your finest hoops, but it has to finish.
With 25 points, Clark topped all scorers, which is an improvement over Game 1.
Fagbenle did have the assists, but Dantas was shooting better, and frankly could shoot better beyond the arc in general. Three-pointers would come in handy for the Fever. Fagbenle was also 0-for-3 on the night at the time of the sub. But about two minutes after Thomas shut her down, and from an identical spot on the floor, Fagbenle made only her third triple this season. It was surely her biggest shot this year for the usual run-and-score transition player.
Fever came close, but not close enough With another Clark three-pointer to follow, the Fever actually led 71-70 at the four-minute mark. Sun guard Marina Mabrey, who scorched for 27 points in the Game 1 victory, nailed another beyond the arc to regain the Sun’s lead. Yet there was Fagbenle to tie it up. The Fever offense looked the best it had all night, and with Aliyah Boston layups, led 77-75 with 2:05 to go.
Coach Christie Sides requested a reminder of the halftime message, to which Boston responded, “Win the game,” following the game.
Sides remarked, “These guys were never in a situation where we couldn’t win this game.” “It resembled an engine.” The longer the game lasted, the better we got. We repeatedly placed kids in difficult circumstances where they had to make choices, such as when Caitlin was pushing. We didn’t even, I believe, make any changes at halftime. We observed a few scenarios in which we felt we could excel.
But Mabrey’s three-point dagger, kept sharpened from Sunday afternoon, emerged with only 46 seconds to seal the Connecticut win, sweeping the Fever 2-0 in the first round of the playoffs. It sent them home for good, without the chance to host the winner-take-all Game 3 in Indianapolis Friday. After the buzzer, Fever players briefly huddled at midcourt and streamed into the tunnel.
Twenty-seven seconds in, Clark made her first three-point try of the night, which had to be relieving for the rookie, following her 2-for-13 afternoon in Game 1. Three minutes in, Clark launched her second try, from 33 feet out, but it wasn’t good. The Fever guard hit the deck when Sun forward DeWanna Bonner appeared to encroach Clark’s landing space. No foul was called.
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