WNBA Playoff Bracket 2024: Big picture after Caitlin Clark, Fever loses, Liberty wins | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

Bleacher Report

The 2024 WNBA playoffs began on Sunday, culminating in a victory by star rookie Caitlin Clark, who led the Indiana Fever in the franchise’s first postseason game since 2016 against the Connecticut Sun.

Previously, the top-seeded New York Liberty opened the day against the No. 8 Atlanta Dream.

Let’s take a look at how the first day of the playoffs went.

Sunday, September 22 (Game 1)

No. 1 New York Liberty beat No. 8 Atlanta Dream 83-69 (NYL leads the series 1-0)

No. 3 Connecticut Sun beat No. 6 Indiana Fever 93-69 (CON leads the series 1-0)

No. 2 Minnesota Lynx beat No. 7 Phoenix Mercury 102-95 (MIN leads the series 1-0)

No. 5 Seattle Storm at No. 4 Las Vegas Aces, ESPN, 10 p.m. ET

Tuesday, September 24 (Game 2)

No. 8 Atlanta Dream at No. 1 New York Liberty, ESPN, 7:30 p.m. ET

No. 5 Seattle Storm at No. 4 Las Vegas Aces, ESPN, 9:30 p.m. ET

Wednesday, September 25 (Game 2)

No. 6 Indiana Fever at No. 3 Connecticut Sun, ESPN, 7:30 p.m. ET

No. 7 Phoenix Mercury at No. 2 Minnesota Lynx, ESPN, 9:30 p.m. ET

Unfortunately, Clark’s playoff career began the same way her rookie season did: with a 20-point loss to the Sun. The unanimous WNBA Rookie of the Year player struggled to get anything done, scoring just 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting and 2-of-13 three-pointers. She also had eight assists and three steals.

Indiana fever @Indiana Fever

Caitlin Clark shakes off her defender and nails an electrifying stepback three-pointer ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/0agQWaRZlS

Kelsey Mitchell did her best to keep Indiana afloat with a team-high 21 points, and Aliyah Boston added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Marina Mabrey led Connecticut with 27 points off the bench, while DeWanna Bonner scored 22 points and Alyssa Thomas had a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists.

Meanwhile, the Liberty showed why they are No. 1 with a start-to-finish win over the Dream to start the day. New York’s star lineup accounted for 77 of the team’s 83 points, with four players scoring in double figures, most notably Leonie Fiebich with a career-high 21 points.

Fiebich made 7 of 8 field goals and made all four of her three-pointers. Breanna Stewart contributed 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocks. Sabrina Ionescu added 17 points and five assists, while Betnijah Laney-Hamilton added 10 points and five dimes.

The Liberty will look to make things clear when they host the Dream for their second game on Tuesday, while Clark and the Fever will get an extra day of rest before facing the Sun again on Wednesday.

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