Caitlin Clark, Fever take beating in choppy Game 1. Now, how will they respond?

The Fever returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 — and they were the featured WNBA game on Sunday. But choppy play and the Sun's physical presence disrupted the Fever at both ends.

Caitlin Clark and head coach Christie Sides both made their playoff debuts Sunday.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — The Indiana Fever have been forced to grow up fast. And they learned on Sunday that there’s no substitute for experience.

After a 1-8 start to the season, they didn’t fold or turn on each other. They blocked out the outside noise, maximized their newfound practice time, and then used the Olympic break as a second training camp.

Then this weekend, they returned to Connecticut for what was a full-circle moment. It’s now not just where this group started the journey, it’s also where they ended a playoff drought that went back to 2016.

They elected to travel straight from Washington DC on Thursday evening, so they had several days to rest, mentally get prepared for what’s to come as so many of them made their playoff debuts.

The Sun have 222 combined games of playoff experience, the Fever have 19. And this is the first postseason game for all five starters.

“I laughed when I saw those numbers,” Fever head coach Christie Sides said pregame.

The Fever knew that Sun would make everything difficult. They respected their offensive firepower that could come from many options. They wanted to be loose in this moment and keep doing what got them here.

“Young and light, just not really having this experience before,” Sides said of the team’s mood. “Just trying to enjoy the most of it. I think that's what I just keep trying to tell these guys — and I should try to take the advice myself — just enjoy this one, enjoy this moment.

“We're not satisfied by no means just getting here, but just keep doing what we've been doing that's given us this opportunity.”

Added Caitlin Clark: “I feel like the energy about our group is really good. I feel like we're prepared for this. I feel like we're ready for it. You're almost just wanting to play and get going.”

But nothing could prepare them for the challenges faced, especially so early on.

As Mike Tyson once famously said, everybody has a plan until you get punched in the mouth.

Or in Clark’s case, poked in the eye.