Any thought that Caitlin Clark would be rusty in her first game back after three weeks away due to injury was put to bed early on Saturday, as the second-year phenom rained threes on the defending champs while handing them their first loss of the season.
Clark hit on seven three-pointers and eventually scored 32 points as the Indiana Fever defeated the New York Liberty by a score of 102-88.
The seven threes are a career high for Clark. The former Iowa Hawkeye collected eight rebounds and dished out nine assists as well.
“[Fever coach Stephanie White] got me a couple of breathers. I feel strong, I felt good,” Clark said after the game. “I thought we played a good game. I thought there was a lot we can still improve on, which is really positive for us. But that’s how the Fever are supposed to play basketball: uptempo, unselfish, working for your teammates, so really proud of our group.”
The Liberty jumped out to a double-digit lead at the beginning of the game, and came out feisty at the start of the second half as well, but each time, Clark responded with a salvo of three-pointers that took the starch out of the defending champs.
“I thought we did a really good job getting the ball into the paint and then kicking it out, which you know, percentage-wise it goes up way more,” Clark said. “I’m really proud of our group. I thought we got high percentage looks. When they are wide open, it’s much easier to knock them down. So just really unselfish and it led to a lot of really good shots for us.”
Overall, Clark was 7-14 from the field, and her 32 points are a season high.
As for Clark’s archrival, Angel Reese, she and the Chicago Sky have lost three in a row and are ranked second-to-last in the WNBA.
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