INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever are headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and will face the Connecticut Sun in the first round.
Here's what you need to know about the postseason matchup:
Schedule
The WNBA released the postseason schedule as Thursday night's games were wrapping up and playoff spots were confirmed. All four series will start on Sunday, Sept. 22.
Here's when the Fever and Sun will face off in their first round series:
Game 1: Sunday, Sept. 22 at Connecticut – 3 p.m.
Game 2: Wednesday, Sept. 25 at Connecticut – 7:30 p.m.
Game 3: Friday, Sept. 27 at Indiana — Time TBD (if necessary)
Series matchup
The Fever come into the playoffs as the No. 6 seed after finishing the season with a 20-20 record. They'll face the No. 3-seeded Sun, which finished the regular season at 28-12.
Connecticut took the season series from the Fever, 3-1, though Indiana won the most recent game between the teams, an 84-80 win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Aug. 28.
May 14, 2024: Connecticut 92, Indiana 71 — The Fever's remarkable season had an inauspicious start.
Caitlin Clark went scoreless for nearly 15 minutes to open her professional debut, but finished with a team-high 20 points as the Fever fell to the Sun. Connecticut's DeWanna Bonner also scored 20 points.
May 20, 2024: Connecticut 88, Indiana 84 — Indiana was winless in its first three games when the Sun came to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 20. The Fever and Sun were tied in the closing seconds, but Connecticut escaped with an 88-84 win.
Clark at Kelsey Mitchell each scored 17 points to lead the Fever. Alyssa Thomas tallied 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in the victory for the Sun.
June 10, 2024: Connecticut 89, Indiana 72 — DiJonai Carrington scored 22 points to lead Connecticut to its third win of the season over Indiana, sending the Fever to their 10th loss of the year.
Indiana was led by 14 points and 12 rebounds from Aliyah Boston. Clark was held to just 10 points in the loss.
Aug. 28, 2024: Indiana 84, Connecticut 80 — Playing in front of Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles and Gabby Thomas at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Fever snapped an 11-game losing streak to Connecticut with an 84-80 win.
Mitchell led Indiana with 23 points and Clark scored 19, breaking the WNBA rookie record for three-pointers in a season during the contest.
Team stats
The Fever averaged 85 points per game as a team, third behind Las Vegas (86.1) and New York (85.6). Connecticut averaged 80.1 points per game, eighth-best in the WNBA.
Indiana shot a league-best 45.6% from the field in the regular season, while The Sun's 44.4% rate was sixth in the league. The Fever shot an average of roughly 9-of-26 from 3-point range this season for a 35.6% average, while Connecticut made about 6 of an average 18 3-points shots per game, a 32.7% clip.
Connecticut averaged 8.2 steals per game this season, third in the WNBA, while Indiana averaged 5.9 steals, last in the league.
Team leaders
Four players averaged in double figures for the Fever during the regular season: Clark and Mitchell each averaged 19.2 points, while Aliyah Boston averaged 14 and NaLyssa Smith 10.6 for Indiana.
Boston averaged 8.9 rebounds to lead Indiana, followed by Smith's 7.1 and 5.7 boards per game from Clark.
Clark dished out 329 assists in her rookie season, a WNBA record among all players.
For the Sun, six players averaged in double figures, led by Bonner's 15 points per game, just ahead of Marina Mabrey's 14.9, Brionna Jones' 13.7 and 12.7 points per game from Carrington. Thomas and Tyesha Harris also averaged at least 10 points per game this season.
On the boards, Thomas grabbed 8.4 rebounds per game, followed by 6.0 rebounds from Bonner.
Thomas also led Connecticut in assists, dishing out 7.9 per game, followed by Mabrey and Harris.