The Indiana Fever fell to 0-2 without injured star Caitlin Clark on Friday night and watched two more guards get hurt.
Clark's backup, veteran Sydney Colson, and Sophie Cunningham both left because of injuries during the Fever's 85-83 loss to the Connecticut Sun, who won their first game after an 0-5 start.
Colson suffered a left leg injury in the first quarter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. In the fourth quarter, Cunningham, who had taken over much of the point guard duties, appeared to aggravate a right ankle injury that kept her out of Indiana's first two games of the season.
Neither player returned against the Sun, and Fever coach Stephanie White didn't have an update on their statuses after the game.
"It was kind of like a gut punch," White said. "It affected us in the second quarter, no doubt, not having another primary ball handler, and we [have to] take Sophie out of what she does naturally really well when she has to become a ball handler.
"But the reality is this stuff happens. We've seen it time and time again in our league. We can't take 2½ quarters to figure it out. But I was proud of our fight in the fourth quarter after Sophie went down."
Cunningham had a season-high 10 points before exiting.
The Fever lost to the Washington Mystics 83-77 in Baltimore on Wednesday, two days after they announced that Clark, the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year, would be out at least two weeks because of a left quad strain.
Against the Sun, the Fever rallied from 15 points down to take the lead twice in the final 3½ minutes and had the ball with a chance to tie or win with 5.1 seconds left. But Kelsey Mitchell missed an off-balance jumper, sending the Fever to their fourth loss this season -- by margins of 1, 2, 6 and 2 points.
Aliyah Boston led the Fever with 17 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds. Marina Mabrey had 26 points to pace Connecticut, which had to replace its entire starting lineup this season after trades and free agency had a big impact on personnel.
It was the first win for new Sun coach Rachid Meziane, who replaced White after she left for Indiana. It also was the franchise's 500th regular-season win, counting its start in Orlando before it moved to Connecticut in 2003.
Indiana started the season with 11 players but finished Friday's game with just eight. If Colson and Cunningham can't play Tuesday against visiting Washington, Indiana would be eligible to sign players to a seven-day contract as temporary replacements.
"It's hard when you keep losing people and you've got to keep trying to piece it together," said Fever forward DeWanna Bonner, who finished with 13 points. "We came in with one game plan, and then you lose your other point guard and you've got to pivot on the fly. And we're a new team at that; we've got all these new pieces. We just have to stay together and stay positive. Get through the storm."