Mohegan — Marina Mabrey finished with 27 points, including five 3-point field goals, as the third-seeded Connecticut Sun defeated the No. 6 Indiana Fever 93-69 Sunday in their WNBA playoff opener before a sold-out crowd of 8,910 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

DeWanna Bonner added 22 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Sun and Alyssa Thomas had a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists.

Mabrey, who came off the bench when starting point guard Ty Harris suffered a right ankle injury in the first quarter, had seven points at halftime.

She boiled over in the second half, with 11 points in the second quarter and a spectacular sequence in the fourth quarter which saw her score nine straight points on two straight 3-pointers and a three-point play.

Kelsey Mitchell finished with 21 points for Indiana, making its first playoff appearance since 2016, and Aliyah Boston had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Caitlin Clark, Indiana’s heralded rookie, had 11 points and eight assists, but shot 4-for-17 overall, 2-for-13 from 3-point range.

The teams will meet for Game 2 at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Mohegan Sun, with the Sun getting the opportunity to sweep the series. Connecticut, with its league-best eighth playoff berth, reached the WNBA semifinals last year before falling to the New York Liberty.

Bonner had 16 points in the first half, fouled while shooting a 3-point field goal with 11.4 seconds remaining in the second quarter and hitting all three foul shots for a 46-38 lead.

Clark shot 1-for-9 in the half, 0-for-6 from 3-point range for three points. Mitchell led the Fever with 11.

In the third quarter, after the Fever pulled within 48-43 on a 3-pointer by Mitchell, the Sun proceeded to forge a double-digit lead when Mabrey went on a 3-point spree, hitting back-to-back shots from long range with 6:06 to play, pulling up for the second one on the fast break.

By the time Mabrey hit her third 3 of the quarter at the 3:51 mark, the Sun led 65-50 for their biggest margin of the game. Mabrey scored 11 points in the quarter as Connecticut held on to a 68-57 lead after 3.

v.fulkerson@theday.com