CT Sun Reserve Reacts To Outshining Caitlin Clark In Playoff Game

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- There were plenty of No. 22 Caitlin Clark jerseys in the stands at Mohegan Sun Arena for a first-round playoff matchup between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun on Sunday.

But a few more No. 4 Sun jerseys might sell after the performance Connecticut forward Marina Mabrey put on in a 93-69 Game 1 win over the Fever.

Mabrey came off the bench and ignited the Sun by scoring 20 of her game-high 27 points in the second half. She knocked down 5-of-12 3-pointers to propel her showing and completely outperformed Clark, who shot an abysmal 4-for-17 from the field and 2-for-13 from 3-point range to finish with 11 points.

Mabrey was quite alright with losing the popularity contest to Clark, especially since the Sun came away with a key win to start their playoff run.

"Caitlin draws a lot of fans. She's amazing," Mabrey said. "... They can come see whoever they want to come see. But end of the day, we're here to win a championship. So, we came out to win the game whether they were cheering for the Indiana Fever or they were cheering for us."

Mabrey got going in the third quarter and kept the hot hand in the final frame. She knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and then made a jumper while getting fouled to send the crowd into a frenzy. The personal 9-0 run from Mabrey made Connecticut's lead insurmountable at 81-60 with 6:01 left.

"Our defense could have been a little bit better," Clark said. "Obviously, Marina gets hot and she's a really good player, but I had a few lapses on the defensive end. As a shooter, once you see two in a row go in, the basket looks huge. So, you can't allow that."

The Sun in mid-July acquired the 5-foot-11 sharpshooter from the Chicago Sky in exchange for guards Rachel Banham and Moriah Jefferson along with a 2025 first-round pick and a first-round pick swap in 2026.

And Mabrey's terrific performance on the playoff stage -- it was the most points she had scored in a Sun jersey -- was what Connecticut envisioned when it traded for her in the first place.

"Every time she shoots a shot I think it's going in and and every time she has the ball in her hands, she's a threat," Sun head coach Stephanie White said. "You have to make sure that you have an eye on her. And most of the time you're guarding her with two people and sometimes three when she puts people in rotation. 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 that we took because we thought she would get us over the hump."