On Sunday, Caitlin Clark returned to the WNBA Playoffs after missing her team's exciting postseason run last year, but unfortunately, it wasn't the return she wanted. Her team fell 102-85 to the defending champion Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of their first-round series. A'ja Wilson, recently named the AP WNBA Player of the Year, showed why she deserved the award, putting up a monstrous performance with 38 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks, two assists, and two steals.
On the opposing side, the Fever's Clark also achieved a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists. Clark, recently named AP's WNBA Comeback Player of the Year, made it clear her team needs to clean things up for Game 2. More news: A’ja Wilson Makes History With Major Award Ahead of WNBA Playoffs "I think they're good defenders, but at the same time, we made it hard on ourselves too.
I thought just our actions were sloppy. I thought what we were running just wasn't great, just nobody got an easy open look ... but just gotta keep shooting at this point in the year," Clark said at the Fever's postgame media session. Clark also gave her team an "F" grade when it came to making things harder for the Aces defensively.
Fever head coach Stephanie White pointed out the Aces' "easy buckets" that her team allowed, including 28 points off turnovers and allowing them to get to the free-throw line, where they hit 17 of 20 free throws. Except for the fourth, the defending champions outscored the Fever in every quarter, and the Aces made 59.1% of their field goals. Las Vegas held a 27-point lead at one point in Game 1, suggesting that Clark and the Fever, a team that led the league in scoring this season, might be outmatched.
The Aces moved into a tie with the Minnesota Lynx as favorites to win the WNBA Finals. They now lead 1-0 in the first-round series against the Fever. However, Indiana gets a chance to tie the best-of-three series with Game 2 on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
More news: Fever Make Emphatic Statement About Caitlin Clark’s MVP Case For more about the Indiana Fever and WNBA, visit Newsweek Sports.
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