The Connecticut Sun pulled away from the Indiana Fever to post a 93-69 win in Game 1 of the first round of the WNBA playoffs.
The Sun were led by a 27-point effort from Marina Mabrey. With some stat-digging, it was revealed that Mabrey broke the WNBA playoff record for points off the bench in a single game.
Mabrey made five of her 12 three-point attempts, shooting 9-20 from the field in 32 minutes of action. She also added three assists and three rebounds, and was second on the team in plus/minus (+20).
Marina Mabrey appeared in 16 games for the Sun, who landed her in a trade from the Chicago Sky in July. In 16 contests, Mabrey averaged 14.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, shooting 47 percent from the field.
The six-year vet has provided her team with some much-needed scoring off the bench and showed her impact versus Indiana in Game 1.
Marina Mabrey, Sun dominate in Game 1 versus Fever
Along with Marina Mabrey, the Sun saw valuable efforts from DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas to take down Caitlin Clark and the Fever to kick off the 2024 WNBA playoffs.
Bonner posted 22 points, six rebounds, and five assists, shooting 7-11 from the field and 2-3 from three-point territory. She also nabbed two steals on the other end of the floor. Thomas boasted a triple-double effort in Game 1, notching 12 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, shooting 6-15 from the field.
The Sun shot 49.3% from the field and 50% from three-point range in their dominant Game 1 victory, stymieing a youthful Fever team led by Clark.
Connecticut limited Indiana to just 69 points as the Fever struggled to knock down shots from beyond the arc. Indiana shot 40.3% from the field and was limited to just 21.3% from three-point range. The Sun also forced 13 Fever turnovers.
Rookie phenom Caitlin Clark shot just 4-17 in her WNBA playoff debut, posting 11 points, eight assists, and four rebounds.