By DJ Harding –
The WNBA season tipped off with the Connecticut Sun beginning their season at home hosting the Indiana Fever.
With the Fever come the last two number one picks Aaliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark. Clark making her WNBA Debut brought a lot of media attention with her, and when asked about the media attention, Coach Stephanie White said “It’s about time. Glad everyone is getting on board. The players deserve it.” White continued with “Moving the needle in a way that is deserved.”
While Clark made her debut, the Sun had multiple players returning in different ways. Brionn Jones made her return from an Achilles injury. Coach White said Jones is on a minutes restriction.
Jones in her return to regular season action with eight points and three rebounds.
Another player who was dealing with injury was Moriah Jefferson, who Coach White informed the media pregame she would play. Jefferson made her return to Connetcicut after playing for UConn.
Jefferson logged three minutes of play, which included three points as Jefferson hit her first three of the season.
Rachel Banham also returned to Connecticut for her first regular season game as a Connecticut Sun since the 2019 WNBA season.
Banham found herself in Clarks shoes exactly eight years ago when she made her debut for the Sun on this exact same day. Eight years later Banham finished the night with 10 points.
I asked Coach White about the game plan going into tonight to which she jokingly responded “I can’t tell you that.” White then mentioned certain keys to the game like finishing plays forcing them to make tough shots.
White said “We have to play them honestly and force them to do what numbers say they can’t do.”
Connecticut got out to an early lead in the first quarter, going up 19-13 behind nine points from Tyasha Harris. Harris went 3-4 from three point range in the first quarter. NaLyssa Smith for Indiana scored seven of her team’s 13 points.
Harris ended with 16 points in the win shooting 4-6 from downtown.
Coach White postgame spoke on Harris’s performance and said “she hit some tough shots for us.”
Smith had 13 points and nabbed nine rebounds, leaving her one shy of a double double.
The second quarter was all Dijonai Carrington, who began the quarter on a 7-0 run by herself before eventually scoring 14 points by the end of the quarter. Connecticut led 49-39 going into the half. Carrington scored 16 by the end of the night.
Carrington, on the defensive end, also had a big night guarding Clark for most of the game. teammate Alyssa Thomas postgame said “She was huge, and to take on that task was huge for us.”
Connecticut as a whole, had a defensive masterpiece causing 25 turnovers by the end of the game.
The second quarter also saw Caitlin Clark score her first career points with a steal leading into a layup with five minutes left.
Clark’s debut saw her score 20 points along with 10 turnovers in what was an up and down night.
Coming out of the half the Sun held strong to their lead with a score of 65-57. The third quarter also saw DeWanna Bonner pass Candice Dupree for fifth all time on the WNBA all time scoring list.
“It was huge and a goal of mine. But to do it tonight made it special with this crowd and this team. To be in this league and stay in this league is hard so patting myself on the back.” Bonner told media postgame
Bonner led all Connecticut Sun scorers with 20 points and grabbed six rebounds in a historic performance.
The Sun closed out the fourth quarter outscoring the Fever 27-14 on their way to winning 92-71.
Coach White said postgame “proud of our group and everyone that played contributed in a big way.”
Alyssa Thomas logged a triple double in the win scoring 14 points grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 13 assists. Thomas now has 12 career triple doubles including playoffs and nine in the regular season alone and her first of the season.
Thomas spoke postgame on her performance “Credit to my teammates for making my job easy. I just put the ball where it needs to go. So as much as it’s about me it’s about them as well.”
Connecticut begins the season 1-0 and will look to make it 2-0 at home Friday night when the Sun host the Washington Mystics. Gametime is scheduled for 7:30 PM EST.