INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Fever fell to the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, 88-72, on Friday night. Connecticut has taken the first three matchups of the regular season with the final showdown set for Friday, September 8 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Rookie center Aliyah Boston led Indiana in scoring for the 10th time this season after notching 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor and 6-of-6 shooting from the free throw line. Boston also pulled down eight rebounds on the night to go along with four assists and three steals.

Kelsey Mitchell added 13 points on the night for Indiana, while forward Emma Cannon contributed 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting in her second consecutive starting appearance. Erica Wheeler pitched in 12 points in addition to five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

It was Boston’s highest scoring quarter of the year that led the Fever in opening the matchup as the rookie notched 11 points in the first frame on 4-of-6 shooting. The Fever got off to a quick start shooting 80 percent (4-of-5) from the floor, but Connecticut soon reversed the momentum by ending the quarter on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting clip and a 23-9 scoring run to close out their own highest scoring first quarter of the season. A three-point field goal at the buzzer from Boston would cap off the first frame as the Fever trailed, 31-22.

The Sun spent the second quarter leading Indiana on a 25-8 scoring run, highlighted by DiJonai Carrington’s seven points and Tyasha Harris’ six points, that gave Connecticut a 56-33 lead at halftime.

After shooting 20 percent from the floor in the second frame, Indiana opened the third quarter 4-of-7 from the court. The Fever held Connecticut, the third-best team in the league in field goal percentage, to only one field goal on two attempts in the first four minutes of the half while forcing five Sun turnovers. Guided by Boston and Mitchell’s six points each, the Fever led the Sun on a 21-9 scoring run for nearly eight minutes. Though outscoring Connecticut, 21-18, in the third frame, Indiana continued to trail, 74-54, going into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, six Fever players contributed to the scoring column while shooting 4-of-8 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. After giving up 56 points to Connecticut in the first half, Indiana’s defense would hold the Sun’s offensive output to only 32 points in the final two quarters.

The Fever tied a season-high 10 steals in the matchup, but Indiana only pulled down a season-low 15 defensive rebounds and only recorded 20 points in the paint on offense, the lowest total of points in the paint this season.

For Connecticut, the Sun gained the lead at the 5:05 minute mark in the first quarter and would not trail for the remainder of the game and extended the lead to as many as 26 points. Tiffany Hayes’ led the six Connecticut players who ended the night in double figures as she netted 18 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists. DeWanna Bonner followed behind with 14 points, while Alyssa Thomas, who has recorded five triple-doubles this season, recorded 11 points, a team-high eight assists and eight rebounds.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa led the team in rebounds as she tied a career-high 10 rebounds to go along with 10 points off the bench. Carrington added 11 points to help the bench outscore Indiana’s bench, 30-17.

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The Fever will travel to take on the Atlanta Dream on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. Sunday’s game will be broadcast only on the official Indiana Fever Facebook page.