Caitlin Clark shrugs off black eye, expects better Fever effort vs. Sun

Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Indiana Fever phenom Caitlin Clark shrugged off a loss -- and a black eye that came from it -- in her WNBA playoff debut, while pledging to "be a lot better" in the next game of the series with the Connecticut Sun.

Clark made just 4 of 17 shot attempts for 11 points in the 93-69 setback Sunday in Uncasville, Conn. The unanimous Rookie of the Year selection made just 2 of 13 attempts from 3-point range, but chipped in eight assists, four rebounds and three steals.

The No. 6 Fever must beat the No. 3 Sun in Game 2 of the best-of-three series to avoid first-round elimination.

"We can win," Clark told reporters. "It's not anything about the building. It's not about the gym. It's not about the hoops. I have all the confidence in the world in this team. Everybody in our locker room does. I know we will be a lot better on Wednesday."

The Sun outshot the Fever 49.3% to 40.3%. They also made 9 of 18 (50%) of their 3-point shots, compared to the Fever's 21.4% (6 of 28) clip. The Sun outscored the Fever 50-36 in the paint, 18-9 off fast breaks and led by as many as 26 points.

The game featured five lead changes and was tied five times. The Fever, who never led in the second half, cut the Sun lead to five early in the third quarter, but never got closer down the stretch.

Sun forward Alyssa Thomas recorded a 12-point, 13-assist, 10-rebound triple-double for the Sun. Veteran guard Marina Mabrey scored a game-high 27 points off the Sun bench.

Forward DeWanna Bonner and guard DiJonai Carrington chipped in 22 and 14 points, respectively, in the victory.

Carrington also was involved in a controversial run in with Clark, which resulted in a black eye forming around the rookie phenom's right eye. The sequence occurred less than 90 seconds into the game.

Clark dribbled the ball at the top of the 3-point arc at the start of the play. She then went to her right and tossed a pass to center Aliyah Boston.

Carrrington, who was defending Clark on the play, swiped her right hand into Clark's eye as she released the pass. Boston went on to miss a shot a few seconds later, while Clark went to her knees, showing signs of pain from the eye swipe.

Referees did not call a foul on Carrington, who ran to the other end of the floor for a layup on the next possession. Clark said the hit did not impact her shooting stroke.

"She obviously got me pretty good in the eye," Clark said. "I don't think it affected me, honestly. I felt like I got good shots, They just didn't go down.

"Obviously a tough time for that to happen."

The Fever will face the Sun in the second game of the series at 7:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday in Uncasville. Game 3, if necessary, will be Friday in Indianapolis.

"Like coach said in the locker room, we were down three in the first quarter, down five in the second quarter and lost by three in the third," Clark said. "We were right there and I felt like we just played a crappy game.

"The flow of the game was really bad. I don't know if that was the reffing, it was probably partly us because we struggled to get stops at times. ... It was one thing after the next."

Game 2 of the Fever-Sun series will air on ESPN. The winner of the series will face the No. 2 Minnesota Lynx or No. 7 Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA semifinals. The Lynx beat the Mercury 102-95 in that series opener Sunday in Minneapolis.