A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark had record-breaking seasons, putting up stats the WNBA had never seen before.

Wilson became the first player in league history to score more than 1,000 points in a season, and she averaged a record 26.9 points. Clark broke the league’s single-season assist mark and scored the most points ever for a rookie.

So it’s no surprise the two were honored Sunday as the unanimous choices for the AP Player and Rookie of the Year awards, respectively, by a 15-member media panel.

Wilson was named the league’s MVP earlier Sunday, also unanimously. The WNBA will announce the rest of its awards over the course of the postseason.

Wilson and Clark headlined the AP All-WNBA first team. They were joined by Napheesa Collier of the Lynx, Breanna Stewart of the Liberty and Alyssa Thomas of the Sun. Sabrina Ionescu (Liberty), Kahleah Copper (Mercury), Nneka Ogwumike (Storm), Kayla McBride (Lynx) and Arike Ogunbowale (Wings) were on the second team.

Other AP winners included:

• Coach of the Year: Cheryl Reeve. She helped Minnesota finish second in the regular season with a team that was picked ninth in the preseason.

• Defensive Player: Collier. The Lynx star had an incredible season on both ends of the court, but she was an anchor especially for Minnesota’s stellar defense. The team had the best defense in the WNBA this season and Collier’s play was the main reason why.

• Comeback Player of the Year: Skylar Diggins-Smith, Seattle.

• Most Improved Player: Dearica Hamby, Los Angeles.

•Sixth Woman of the Year: Tiffany Hayes, Las Vegas.

Sun rout Fever behind Thomas’ triple-double

Alyssa Thomas had the 15th triple-double of her career to spoil Caitlin Clark’s playoff debut as the Connecticut Sun beat the Indiana Fever 93-69 on Sunday in Uncasville, Conn., in Game 1 of their best-of-three series.

Thomas finished with 12 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, earning her fourth postseason triple-double. Marina Mabrey led the third-seeded Sun with 27 points, 20 of which came in the second half.

Clark finished with 11 points, recovering from a rough start. She also had eight assists.

Liberty 83, Dream 69 >> Leonie Fiebich hit four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting, Breanna Stewart added 20 points and 11 rebounds and New York never trailed in its Game 1 win over Atlanta.

Wild send 3 prospects to junior teams

The Wild on Sunday made their first cuts of training camp, sending three prospects back to their junior teams and releasing four others from professional tryouts.

The team now has 50 players in camp.

Hours after a prospect-heavy team drilled the Jets 5-2 in a preseason game in Winnipeg, Minnesota sent defenseman Kalem Parker back to Moose Jaw, forward Ryder Ritchie back to Medicine Hat and goaltender Chase Wutzke to Red Deer.

Ritchie, the Wild’s second-round pick in June’s amateur draft, had an assist Saturday night in Winnipeg.

The Wild also released forwards Gavin Hain and Matthew Sop, defenseman Will Zmolek and goaltender Kyle McClellan from their professional tryouts. They will report to Iowa Wild training camp.

Capan III earns first win on Korn Ferry Tour

Frankie Capan III notched his first victory on the Korn Ferry Tour on Sunday.

The North Oaks native entered the final round of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio, with a two-shot lead and fired a 1-under-par round of 70 to finish the tournament at 13-under par and hold off a slew of chasers for a two-stroke victory.

The victory is Capan’s fourth top-five finish on the Korn Ferry Tour this season.

“I’ve come close a few times,” he said. “It really feels nice just to kind of get the monkey off my back if you so say.”

Capan earned $270,000 for the victory and 600 points in the season-long standings, which moves him up to No. 5 on the points list. The top 30 after the next event — the Korn Ferry Tour Championship — earn an automatic promotion to the PGA Tour. Capan locked that up last week.

Saints hit 3 homers but lose season finale

The Indianapolis Indians defeated the St. Pauls Saints 9-4 in the final game of the regular season for both teams Sunday.

A crowd of 5,628 attended the game at CHS Field and saw the Saints hit three home runs, including an inside-the-park homer by Rylee Bannon. Patrick Winkel and Jair Camargo also homered for the Saints.

St. Paul Saints starter Caleb Boushley was bidding for his 10th win over the season but was knocked out after giving up seven runs on nine hits — including three homers — over 4 2/3 innings. He finished 9-6 on the season.

Michael Helman went 2 for 4 with an RBI for Saints.

St. Paul finished 70-79 in the International League. They went 32-43 in the second half and placed 17th out of 20 teams. They were 38-36 in the first half and tied for sixth. Their overall record was the 13th best.

BASEBALL >> The Cincinnati Reds fired manager David Bell on Sunday night after six seasons. The 52-year-old Bell was hired by the Reds in October 2018. He had a 409-456 record.

football >> Eugene “Mercury” Morris, who starred for the unbeaten 1972 Miami Dolphins as part of a star-studded backfield and helped the team win two Super Bowl titles, has died, the team said Sunday. He was 77.

GOLF >> Billy Horschel became the first American golfer to win the BMW PGA Championship twice when he holed a brilliant eagle to beat four-time major winner Rory McIlroy in a playoff.

GOLF >> Lydia Ko extended her amazing summer run when she turned a two-shot deficit into a rout by closing with a 9-under 63 to win the Kroger Queen City Championship for her third LPGA Tour title of the season.

— The Associated Press