by Lindsay Schnell and Richard Morin
Final: Connecticut Sun 92, Indiana Fever 71
Sun star Alyssa Thomas recorded a triple-double (13-10-13) to help Connecticut cruise past Indiana 92-71 in Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut.
Caitlin Clark stats
Clark scored 20 points, tied for the game high, on 5-for-15 shooting (4-for-11 from 3). She had 10 turnovers, though, while recording just three assists. She had two steals and committed four fouls.
Sun’s Alyssa Thomas records triple-double in season opener
A new WNBA season, another Alyssa Thomas triple double.
In her first game of the 2024 season, Thomas recorded the impressive stat line with 3:30 to play, when she grabbed her 10th rebound of the night. She also has 13 points and 13 assists, and the Sun have an 81-67 lead.
It is Thomas’ 12th career triple-double, including playoffs. (All other WNBA players have combined for 21 total in the regular season.) In 2023, Thomas set a new league record for both double-doubles (28) and single-season assists (316). The 32-year-old is a four-time WNBA All-Star.
After struggling for much of the game, turning over the ball a game-high eight times and shooting inefficiently, Clark found a rhythm as the Indiana Fever attempted to chip away at the Connecticut Sun’s fourth-quarter lead.
Clark hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter and got to the line for a pair of free throws on another possession. Inefficient or not, she was tied with the Sun’s DeWanna Bonner with a game-high 20 points as the Fever trailed 81-67 with 3:29 left.
End of third quarter: DeWanna Bonner moves up WNBA’s all-time scoring list
It’s been a great day for DeWanna Bonner, who midway through the third quarter moved up to fifth on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list with 6,897 points. Bonner has 16 so far tonight, and her team has a 65-57 lead on Indiana at the end of the third quarter.
Bonner, 36, is in her 14th WNBA season, and her fifth with Connecticut (she previously played for Phoenix, helping the Mercury to two WNBA championships). Based on her production — last season she averaged 14.9 points and 6.1 rebounds — you’d never guess her age.
Meanwhile, it’s been a rough night for Caitlin Clark, who has 12 points but also eight turnovers. Yikes. (She had nine, but one got taken away on the official stats.) She’s 3-of-10 from the field, struggling against Connecticut’s length defensively; it can’t be fun to be defended by Bonner, who has switched on to Clark a couple times. The Fever have 18 turnovers total, which Connecticut has turned into 18 points.
Originally posted on msn.com