Caitlin Clark made her return to the WNBA Playoffs on Sunday, yet the outcome wasn’t what she hoped for. Her team, the Indiana Fever, faced a 102-85 defeat against the reigning champions, the Las Vegas Aces, during Game 1 of their initial series.

A’ja Wilson, recognized as the AP WNBA Player of the Year, showcased her skills with an impressive stat line of 38 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks, two assists, and two steals. On the opposite side, Clark contributed a double-double, achieving 15 points and 10 assists. Despite Clark’s commendable performance, she emphasized the need for her team to improve in Game 2.

“I think they’re good defenders, but at the same time, we made it hard on ourselves too. I thought just our actions were sloppy. I thought what we were running just wasn’t great, just nobody got an easy open look … but just gotta keep shooting at this point in the year,” Clark said at the Fever’s postgame media session.

Clark criticized her team’s defensive tactics, giving them an “F” grade. Fever’s head coach Stephanie White noted the Aces managed 28 points off turnovers and capitalized on free-throw opportunities, scoring 17 out of 20 attempts.

Throughout the game, the Aces outpaced the Fever in every quarter except the fourth. Holding a significant lead of 27 points at one stage, Las Vegas demonstrated their dominance by making 59.1% of their field goals. This suggests that the Fever, despite being the top scorers in the league, have a challenging task ahead.

The Aces have now tied with the Minnesota Lynx as leading contenders for the WNBA Finals. They lead 1-0 in the series against the Fever, who have a chance to level the score in Game 2 on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET.