WNBA playoffs: Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever swept in first round, Diana Taurasi plays potentially last ever game
By Sam Joseph and Jacob Lev, CNN
(CNN) — The final four of the 2024 WNBA playoffs are set.
The first round of the postseason concluded on Wednesday, with the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx booking their spots in the semifinals.
Here’s everything you need to know about which squads are moving on, and which groups are heading home.
Sun sweep Fever to end Caitlin Clark’s historic year
Caitlin Clark’s spectacular rookie season has come to an end after the No. 6 Indiana Fever were defeated 87-81 in Game 2 by the third-seeded Sun to complete the best-of-three series sweep.
Clark – who was named the unanimous AP WNBA Rookie of the Year on Sunday – led all scorers with 25 points and also had nine assists and six rebounds. She is the first rookie in league history to record at least 25 points, five assists and five boards in a playoff game and became the youngest player in history to achieve the feat.
“It’s a good little taste of what’s possible for this organization and for this franchise,” Clark told reporters after the game. “There’s a lot for us to hold our heads high about. This team won, I think, five games two years ago. We are a young group, a pretty inexperienced group, but we came together and had a lot of fun playing with one another … proud of this group. Stayed resilient all year and had a lot of fun together.”
After finishing her senior year at Iowa with a loss to South Carolina in the national championship game, Clark had just over a month to prepare for her WNBA debut.
“It will be good for me to kind of reflect back on everything that’s happened,” she said. “I feel like I didn’t have time to really reflect on my college career because it ended so fast.
“Then I came here and was trying to give everything I could to this team and kind of move on and put all that behind me and help this team get back to the playoffs. I feel like taking some time to myself and really enjoying that and reflecting back.”
2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston posted a big double-double for the Fever with 16 points and 19 rebounds and gave Indiana a 77-75 lead with just over two minutes to go in the matchup.
However, she was immediately answered at the other end by DeWanna Bonner – playing her record-tying 82nd postseason game – who splashed a triple to kick-start a 12-4 Connecticut run that closed out the series.
Alyssa Thomas led the way for the third-seeded Sun, posting 19 points and 13 assists, with four other Connecticut players scoring in double figures.
This is the sixth straight year that the Sun have made the semifinals of the playoffs, but the franchise is still seeking its first WNBA championship.
Diana Taurasi plays what could be her last ever game as Lynx eliminate Mercury
Diana Taurasi might have played her last ever WNBA game.
The No. 2 seed Lynx defeated the No. 7 Phoenix Mercury 101-88 behind a dominant performance from Napheesa Collier in a 2-0 sweep to set up a semifinal clash with the Sun, as rumors about Taurasi’s potential retirement continue to swirl.
Taurasi had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists before fouling out of the game. She received a standing ovation from the Target Center in Minnesota as she left the floor.
The 42-year-old was drafted first overall by the Mercury in 2004 and has spent her entire WNBA career with the franchise. She is a former MVP, three-time WNBA champion, six-time EuroLeague champion, six-time Olympic champion, 11-time WNBA All-Star and is widely considered to be one of the best women’s basketball players ever.
She has not officially confirmed her retirement but gave an emotional address to the Phoenix crowd in the team’s final regular season game last week.
“I want to thank every single coach, every single player, every single person that’s put on a WNBA jersey because it takes a village and our league is about uplifting each other,” she said in the speech. “And, in return, to see where we are now, 28 years later, for the ones who played before, this league is where it is now, we’re thankful for you guys, and we’re thankful for the next generation.
“If it is the last time, it felt like the first time,” she added.
Brittney Griner led the Mercury in scoring with 24 points, while Natasha Cloud and Kahleah Copper added 16 and 13 respectively.
Collier produced a stand-out performance to power the Lynx to the next round. She tied the WNBA playoff game scoring record with 42 points on 70% shooting, also recording five rebounds, four assists and two blocks. She has scored a combined 80 points in her two games against the Mercury, the most over any two-game stretch in WNBA postseason history, per the league.
Minnesota is chasing its fifth WNBA title. The winner of the Lynx-Sun series will take on either the defending champion Las Vegas Aces or the New York Liberty in the 2024 WNBA Finals.
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