Sun spoil Caitlin Clark's WNBA debut

On Tuesday, the Connecticut Sun dimmed the spotlight on Caitlin Clark in her Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) debut, as All-Star DeWanna Bonner scored 20 points at home to defeat the Indiana Fever 92-71.

Clark's sharpshooting abilities made her a must-see in her final year of college, and a sold-out crowd packed Mohegan Sun Arena to see her first regular-season game in the pros.

However, the Sun refused to let the six-foot guard steal the show, as DiJonai Carrington dominated Clark on defence, Alyssa Thomas recorded her ninth career triple double, and Bonner became the league's fifth all-time scorer with a third-quarter layup.

"This is what they expect from me every night, whether it's Caitlin or whether it's whoever we're playing," Carrington said. "This is the standard."

Aliyah Boston, last year's unanimous Rookie of the Year, started the game with a two-pointer off an assist from Clark, but the Sun quickly seized control as guard Tyasha Harris hit three three-pointers in the first quarter.

Clark, who finished the game with 20 points and 10 turnovers, struggled early and was unable to score until a layup off a steal nearly halfway through the second quarter, which elicited wild cheers from the crowd.

"I didn't have the greatest start," Clark told reporters. "It's the first one - there's going to be good ones, there's going to be bad ones."

She drained her first of four three-pointers with seconds left in the half, but the Fever trailed the Sun by 10 points at halftime and couldn't catch up due to clumsy mistakes that resulted in 25 turnovers.

"They punched us in the mouth tonight," Fever coach Christie Sides told reporters. "We've got to figure out what we did tonight that we could do better."

SportsLigue