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00:03 Day number two of the WNBA season in 2024 and
00:06 we look back on the quadruple header of opening night to start this
00:11 second hour with Karina Mustafa joining us here on this Wednesday to go back
00:16 around the four games.
00:17 Caitlin Corks WNBA debut last night in Connecticut the title defense for
00:22 a second consecutive season in Las Vegas for the Aces and so much more.
00:28 Karina, thank you for taking the time to join us here on this Wednesday on the
00:32 early line.
00:33 Great to be back.
00:34 I'm so excited that the W season is back.
00:37 And it's going to be a great, great season.
00:39 The most highly anticipated season in the WNBA off to a very strong start last
00:45 night in those four games.
00:47 Karina, we start in Connecticut with Caitlin Corks WNBA debut.
00:52 Wasn't exactly the greatest debut for the number one overall pick.
00:56 20 points, a team high for Indiana, but she did not score until the second
01:01 quarter and also had 10 turnovers, the most we have ever seen in a WNBA debut
01:08 in league history.
01:10 And the Sun take advantage.
01:11 Connecticut wins by 21, 92-71 on their home four last night, easily covering as
01:18 an eight-point favorite.
01:19 Karina, what did you learn from game number one between the Fever and the Sun?
01:24 Listen, I think if you wanted a welcome to the W moment for Caitlin Clark, going
01:28 up against Alyssa Thomas in the Connecticut Sun was exactly that.
01:31 I mean, the Connecticut Sun are one of the deepest teams in the leagues.
01:34 Like, make it no mistake.
01:35 Of course, Caitlin is always going to have that transition when you're going into
01:38 the professional league.
01:39 But to have your first opponent be the Sun, who have been very successful the last
01:43 few seasons and have that MVP candidate in Alyssa Thomas, Dawana Bonner, who
01:47 became fifth on the all-time scoring leader in the WNBA.
01:51 She finished with 20.6 rebounds.
01:53 Alyssa Thomas, like I said, got her first triple-double.
01:56 You got a lot of Ty Harris, De'Janae Carrington.
01:59 Like, all these players who have kind of developed into their roles did a great
02:03 job of kind of, you know, stifling the Indiana Fever in Caitlin Clark.
02:07 And yes, Caitlin had a slow start, but I think what I liked from her is that later
02:11 in the game, even though they were down, once her shots kind of started falling,
02:15 you could see her kind of relax a little bit more.
02:17 I think there were a lot of nerves to start.
02:20 And so, yeah, it's okay.
02:21 I think that game kind of went exactly as you might have expected.
02:26 - By the way, Corinne, if we're taking a look at the WNBA season, because I think
02:29 you bring up some good points here in talking here before we went live on the air,
02:32 the excitement here in the air for the WNBA.
02:34 Now, hoop heads are always going to say, yes, a new basketball season is starting.
02:37 This is fantastic.
02:38 But the average fan, the casual fan, being brought into the tent, that was a big deal
02:43 yesterday with Caitlin Clark coming into her first game and also championship
02:47 teams playing, the superstars on the horizon.
02:49 Talk to us about the excitement for just being a WNBA fan, but also the other fans
02:53 not going like, you know what?
02:54 I need to watch this sport more.
02:56 - Yeah, I mean, you could feel it.
02:58 Like, it was a Sun Home game, but there were a lot of fever fans in the building,
03:02 and they were cheering just as loud for Caitlin and the rest of that team.
03:05 But, yeah, it's like an interesting time because all of these fans that kind of
03:09 came over for March Madness are now, like, watching the WNBA.
03:13 And then there's also the fans that have been around for a while, and they're like,
03:16 yeah, we got some history here too.
03:18 Like, with the Connecticut Sun beating Indiana Fever, they're like, yeah,
03:21 that's exactly what's supposed to happen.
03:23 So it will be interesting to see kind of how the new eyeballs, you know,
03:26 mix together with the people that have been here already.
03:28 But I think, you know, a lot of the new players too, like, even if you look at
03:32 Chicago, Angel Reese, Camila Cardoso, just like what they've brought already
03:36 to their teams, it's just, it's an unprecedented time, I think, in the league.
03:40 - Yeah, Karina, we talked about this yesterday in previewing the season.
03:43 I think it was during the WNBA draft show that Ryan Rucco, who called a lot of the
03:47 action for ESPN during the women's NCAA tournament, said it best.
03:52 It's time for a moment to be followed by momentum into a new WNBA season.
03:58 And if you looked at the game last night, the Sun were an eight-point favorite
04:01 for a reason.
04:02 Connecticut was the third-best team, only a small peg behind both the Liberty and
04:07 the Aces last year at 27 and 13.
04:10 They should have hammered the Fever, who were 13 and 27 a season prior,
04:15 and that's what happened.
04:16 And Alyssa Thomas, as you mentioned, sensational.
04:19 A triple-double for the eighth time since the start of last year.
04:24 That's more than anybody else has had in their WNBA careers, and she's done it
04:29 since the start of 2023, including the playoffs.
04:33 So let's focus on Kaitlyn Clark one last time.
04:36 A team-high 20 points for Clark in her debut, but again, those 10 turnovers.
04:41 Only three dimes did make four triples as she started to find her footing
04:46 throughout that game last night against the Sun.
04:49 The great weight of expectation, Karina, has been placed on Kaitlyn Clark,
04:53 dating back to her time in Iowa, now here in the W.
04:57 How do you expect the rest of her rookie campaign to fare?
05:01 Yeah, I mean, you look at those 10 turnovers in this first game,
05:04 and I think that speaks a lot to the decision-making that Coach Chrissy Sides
05:08 kind of talked about before this game, where everything is so much quicker
05:12 than WNBA, and Kaitlyn is going to see that.
05:14 So that's kind of where those turnover numbers came from.
05:16 And so what I'm interested to see in the rest of her rookie season
05:19 is how she kind of adapts to that, how she adapts to defensive pressure,
05:23 because De'Janae Carrington was on her all night.
05:25 So you're going to get players like that every night.
05:27 And so the way that she makes decisions, whether it's to give that extra pass
05:31 or to take the shot herself, the way that she gets her open looks,
05:34 I think that's going to be key for her and her development
05:36 for the rest of the season, and I'm sure that it will happen,
05:38 because Kaitlyn, of course, there's a reason why she was the number one player.
05:41 There's a reason why the Fever have had the top pick the last two seasons
05:44 and the number two pick the year before.
05:46 So they're going to be able to develop her,
05:48 and I'm really excited to see what she does under WNBA coaching.
05:52 The Fever do have some young talent here,
05:54 and granted, when you're drafting number one overall,
05:56 that's what you're supposed to get.
05:57 If you take a look at the loss last night, it's a long season,
06:00 and yes, they were the underdogs here.
06:01 But do we change the outlook here of the Fever, or what do you expect,
06:05 I should say, from the Fever this season after that performance on opening night?
06:09 Listen, I think the Fever are still in that rebuilding mode.
06:13 Last year, they had the most amount of wins that they've had in a really long time,
06:16 and I can't say I expect them to get more than they did last season by a lot.
06:21 I think we have a temper of expectations when it comes to seeing what the Fever do,
06:25 because if you look at their upcoming schedule, it's not very easy.
06:28 They've got the Liberty twice.
06:29 They've got the Sun again, the Storm, the Sparks, the Aces, the Sparks, and the Storm,
06:34 and that's not an easy lineup of teams to play against,
06:37 especially when you're just kind of figuring out how to play with each other
06:40 in this first part of the season.
06:42 So I expect them to remain competitive within these games
06:45 because they've shown that they can do that in flashes,
06:47 but don't expect them to be winning a lot of them.
06:50 They're still kind of in that phase where next year,
06:53 they might be able to take that next competitive leap,
06:55 but it's going to take some time.
06:57 To Karina's point, last year, 13 wins.
07:00 The three years prior, five wins, six wins, six wins.
07:05 The Fever have had a losing record for seven straight seasons.
07:08 Yes, there is expectation and an expected elevation with Kaitlyn Clark,
07:13 Annalia Boston, the last two number one overall picks, but give it some time.
07:18 Now we look at the Rookie of the Year odds,
07:20 where Kaitlyn Clark is a really hefty favorite at -700,
07:23 but Karina, let's shine some light on the other Rooks.
07:26 They're out in the WNBA, a new guard that we came to love
07:30 during the women's college basketball season.
07:33 How do you expect the rest of the Rookies to perform
07:35 in their first year in the WNBA?
07:38 Listen, I mean, you see Cameron Brink on there,
07:40 Rekia Jackson in LA.
07:41 I went to Edmonton to watch them play in the WNBA Canada game.
07:44 They looked phenomenal.
07:45 I think their transition to the league is going to be really cool
07:48 to see on the Sparks this year.
07:50 Angel Reese, I think, also showed out already.
07:53 The team that I'm looking at, actually, is the Dallas Wings
07:56 because they have Jacey Sheldon, who I believe is going to get
07:59 a lot of playing time now just based on the roster decisions
08:02 that they did make.
08:03 It seems like they have a lot of belief in her.
08:05 So I'm looking to see how she does as well as Jalen Brown,
08:07 who showed out in the preseason for the Wings
08:09 and ended up making the team and kind of solidifying her spot.
08:12 So there's a lot of exciting Rookies.
08:14 Of course, Aliyah Edwards, I got to rep her here from the North.
08:17 She had like six points, two rebounds in one block
08:20 against Liberty last night.
08:21 So there's a lot of really, really exciting Rookies this year.
08:24 I think this was a great draft class.
08:26 Listen, the Mystics kept things very close against the New York Liberty
08:30 last night in the nation's capital, and we will see Angel Reese
08:34 and Camila Cardoso in their debuts tonight with Chicago.
08:37 The same for the LA Sports at home against the Atlanta Dream.
08:41 We'll continue the recaps here around the WNBA
08:44 on the other side of the break with Karina Mustapha.
08:46 We'll look back at the rest of the action from the opening night.
08:50 Yes, a ton of focus in Connecticut for Kaitlyn Cork's debut
08:54 against the Sun, but we had the Aces begin their second consecutive
08:59 WNBA championship defense last night at home as well.
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