Much of the attention in Game 1 of the first-round WNBA playoff series between the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun centered around a pair of incidents involving Caitlin Clark and DiJonai Carrington.
In previous matchups between the Sun and Fever, things have gotten physical, and Sunday’s game was no different as the two exchanged seemingly inadvertent eye pokes. Clark got hit near her right eye by Carrington in the first quarter, and then in the fourth frame, Clark returned the favor, accidentally knocking out Carrington’s contact.
It was all part of a frustrating day for Clark, who finished with just 11 points in 36 minutes of play in a 93-69 loss to the Sun. The unanimous AP WNBA Rookie of the Year’s dissatisfaction with her own performance bubbled to the surface in the third quarter when she slapped a chair on the bench in anger.
“We didn’t play well, didn’t play to the level we’re capable of playing,” Clark said. “We didn’t shoot the ball like we’re capable of. We’re capable of winning this game.”
And of the exchanges with Carrington, Clark said: “Got me pretty good in the eye. 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.”
No, Clark wasn’t going to blame her abysmal playoff debut on some tough guarding from an opponent.
Besides, if Clark had held Carrington liable for why she shot 4-of-17 from the floor and 2-of-13 from 3-point land, she would’ve been picking the wrong Connecticut player to hold accountable.
For the majority of the game, the player guarding Clark and making things extremely difficult for her was 37-year-old DeWanna Bonner, who used her combination of two things that Clark doesn’t have—experience and length—to make the rookie star’s first playoff game an absolute nightmare.
In the first half, Clark went 0-of-3 from the floor when Bonner was guarding her. When ESPN’s Holly Rowe relayed that stat to Bonner during an on-court interview, she had an appropriate and memorable reaction.
“Let me knock on some wood real quick,” Bonner said, bending over and tapping the court while letting out a laugh. “Because she’s a great player. I know she’s going to come out in the second half ready to go, so I got to key in.”
Clark wasn’t all that better in the second half though, going 3-of-8 from the floor with two turnovers. The play of Bonner was a big reason why.
For much of her career, the Auburn product has been underrated as a defender, making an All-WNBA Defensive Team just once—the second team in 2015. But this season, Bonner is posting a career-high in defensive win shares with 2.5, which is fifth-best in the WNBA. Her defensive rating of 92.6 is the second-best she’s posted in her 15-year career and is 11th-best in the league this season.
The part of Bonner’s defense that hasn’t been undervalued over the course of her career is her versatility and savviness. She’s guarded all sorts of players, from slashing wings to bruising centers to sharpshooting guards. Clark was just her latest victim.
The 6-foot-4 Bonner had a highlight-worthy block on Clark as she drove to the rim in the second quarter. She finished the game with two blocks in addition to 22 points, six rebounds and five assists. Alyssa Thomas posted a triple-double for the Sun in the win, but if there was an MVP of Game 1, the honor should go to Bonner.
That Connecticut had Bonner guard Clark was a surprise to many. In the Sun’s previous four matchups with the Fever, Carrington shouldered that assignment for the majority of those games. But when the Fever finally beat the Sun 84-80 in their last meeting behind Clark’s 19 points and five assists, Connecticut knew it had to attempt another strategy.
“They beat us last time, so we had to do something different,” Bonner said. “It was nothing behind it. They got two great guards, so somebody’s got to step up and play defense, that’s the only way to beat them, so I just took on the challenge. She’s a great player. I know next game she’s going to come out firing.”
Indeed, that’s the task at hand now for Bonner and the Sun: Can they stifle Clark again to take the series-clinching win?
On Wednesday evening, we’ll find out.
