There was no victory for Caitlin Clark in Minnesota on Saturday night as the Minnesota Lynx defeated the Indiana Fever 90-80 for their sixth straight victory. In her first game since she broke the WNBA record for most assists in a rookie season, Clark had a solid outing with 23 points, the 13th time she's scored at least 20 points in a game this season. But the 2024 Commissioner's Cup winners were clicking from beyond the arc with 11 made 3-pointers, six of which came in the first quarter.
Saturday was the first time Clark lost in the state of Minnesota since she started her college career. Clark won the 2023 and 2024 Big Ten tournament titles with Iowa at Target Center, posting a perfect 6-0 record when playing inside the arena. Combined with the three road games against Minnesota in her college career, she went 9-0 in the state since she put on a Hawkeyes uniform. She moved to 10-0 when Indiana beat the Lynx on July 14, but the winning streak finally came to a halt Saturday night.
The first quarter was shaky for Indiana and Clark; the team was 0-for-7 from 3-point land in the first 10 minutes while the Fever’s star rookie was 1-for-8 from the field. Meanwhile, Minnesota was knocking down shots at will with six made 3-pointers to build out a 13-point lead.
It was a completely different Fever team in the second quarter. It felt like Indiana couldn’t miss anything. Clark started to heat up and the Fever ended the half on a 21-9 run, capped off by a signature Clark 3-pointer in the final seconds to make it a one-point game at halftime.
Minnesota stretched the lead back to double-digits in the third quarter. The Lynx scored on their first five possessions of the quarter and started the second half on a 16-5 run.
Indiana tried to close the gap for the remainder of the game, cutting the deficit to as little as three points. But Minnesota countered with its own run, pushing the lead to as much as 15 points, to prevent the comeback. The Lynx led for all but the first minute-and-a-half of the game.
Minnesota's Napheesa Collier finished the night as the leading scorer with 31 points.
Clark finished the night with 23 points on 8-for-18 shooting, including 3-for-8 from 3-point land. She also had eight assists, five rebounds, one steal and seven turnovers. Her best quarter was the second, when she had nine points (four of her five shot attempts in the frame went in).
Indiana's next game is Monday night on the road against the Atlanta Dream.
Caitlin Clark's WNBA Record-Breaking Season
If it feels like Caitlin Clark is setting a WNBA or rookie record every game, that's probably because she pretty much is. The Indiana Fever star is fresh off breaking the rookie mark for assists in a season, passing Ticha Penicheiro's previous record that was set in 1998 by dishing out her 225th assist. That achievement coming in a statement win over the Seattle Storm.
Caitlin Clark's Impact on the WNBA
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark entered the WNBA amid a myriad of questions about how she would handle the transition to pro basketball.
Three months into her professional career, The answer seems clear: Better than expected.
It may have taken a little longer than Clark or the Indiana Fever would have liked, but she is having a record-setting rookie season and crafting a new image along the way.
The No. 1 draft pick entered the league out of Iowa known for her record-breaking NCAA scoring — and particularly those long 3-pointers. Now, she has assists records.
“I’ve always been able to see something happen before it happens,” Clark said recently after the Fever defeated Phoenix and completed their first season sweep of any team since 2020. “I think (Kelsey Mitchell) can tell (now) when I want her to go back door, when I want her to cut off the ball or anything like that. It’s that chemistry you get when you’re used to playing with one another.
“It’s taken time, but I think we’re really starting to get it down.”
Anyone who has watched — and yes, millions of fans are continuing to tune in — can see the difference.
After stumbling out of the gate — the Fever opened this season with nine games in 16 days, losing eight of them with Clark scrambling to learn the playbook and how to fit in. Her turnovers outnumbered her assists. And there were more questions than answers as frustration appeared to creep into the mix.
Since then, Indiana has rebounded by going 12-7, solidifying its playoff position. And all the angst has been replaced by smiles and high fives.
It’s not by happenstance.
A compressed schedule between the end of Clark’s college season and the start of the WNBA season didn’t give Indiana much time to practice — or for the players to learn one another’s nuances. So during the monthlong Olympic break, coach Christie Sides changed the practice routine and challenged Clark.
“There were a lot of times during drills where they were running certain offenses and I would tell (Clark), and only her, so she would have to tell the players what we’re running or where to go,” Sides said. “I would throw some things out there, some sets we hadn’t run so she had to think it through and put people in the right position.”
Clark has responded and her teammates seem to be taking the cue, too.
In their first two games since the break, Indiana looked impressive in wins against Phoenix and Seattle. The Fever outscored the Storm 33-17 over the final 10 minutes.
Mitchell is 11 of 21 on 3s and has 55 points since the restart while Lexi Hull had a season-high 22 points and went 6 of 7 on 3s in her last game. Forward Aliyah Boston, the 2023 Rookie of the Year, also had nine assists against the Storm after outplaying Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner last Friday. Indiana plays at Minnesota on Saturday.
“You have to adjust,” Mitchell said, describing the learning process with Clark. “She had to transition as a pro, and we had to give her what she needs, be a resource and fill those gaps in. She’s one of those players where her (basketball) IQ is going to take us a lot of places, so you’ve got to figure out where you fit in, knowing how to read and adjust off of her.”
Caitlin Clark: A Record-Breaking Rookie Season
Here's a look at a list of just some of the other history Clark has made so far this season, starting with more dimes.
Assists In A Game:
Clark dished out 19 assists in a loss to the Dallas Wings on July 17. That passed Courtney Vandersloot's 18 converted passes in 2020. Caitlin now owns the record for most rookie assists in a season and most assists in a game for any WNBA player. If she averages 7 assists the rest of the season, she will pass Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas for most total assists by any player in a single season. Clark is currently averaging 8.3 a game in leading the league. She has already broken the Fever franchise record for assists in a season.
Most Combined Points Scored or Assisted:
Clark accounted for 73% of the Fever's total points in that same game against the Wings, the highest percentage of a team's offense ever compiled by an individual player. Her current averages of 17.8 points and 8.3 assists would also be unprecedented in combination if she can hold those for the remainder of the year. In addition, Clark had the most points and assists ever across a two-game span with 53 points and 29 assists between the game against Dallas and the win over the Phoenix Mercury out of the Olympics break. She currently leads the entire league in total points scored or assisted on and has already totaled more than any rookie ever.
Fastest Player to 400 Points and 200 Assists:
It should come as no surprise given the above that Clark was also the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 400 points and 200 assists, passing Sue Bird. She did it in 26 games. It took Bird 33.
First Rookie Triple-Double:
Clark did something no first-year player had ever done before against the New York Liberty on July 6. Clark finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists in a Fever win to become the first rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double.
Historic Stat Line:
Clark put up numbers never before seen in the WNBA or NBA during a contest against the Washington Mystics on July 10. Caitlin finished with 29 points, 13 assists, five rebounds, five made three-pointers, five blocks and three steals. Those totals had never been put together in either professional basketball league.
Most Rookie Points/Assists Double-Doubles:
Clark has recorded more total double-doubles than any rookie guard in league history and has registered more points and assists double-doubles than any first-year player ever has as well.
Most All-Star Votes:
Not an on court achievement but in part due to her basketball brilliance, Clark received over 700,000 All-Star votes, the most by any player ever. She tied the record for most assists in the exhibition with 10.
If all that reads like a broken record, well, one might want to get used to it. Because Clark's career is going to be full of WNBA and basketball history, that is already guaranteed.
The Caitlin Clark Phenomenon: A Monster Awakened
When Caitlin Clark received word that she wouldn’t be on the United States women’s national team for the Paris Olympics, she texted her Indiana Fever coach, Christie Sides.
“They woke a monster,” Clark wrote, according to Sides.
In doing so, they also gave that monster some seemingly well-needed rest — a one-month break of recharging and refocusing that has a chance to change the dynamics of the rest of the WNBA season.
Clark is a different player — and a much better player — now than she was back in May as she jumped to the WNBA almost directly from a long season at Iowa. Some of that is getting adjusted to the pro game. Some of that is figuring out how to play with her teammates — and her teammates figuring out how to play with her.
And some of that, at least these last two games when she played her best professional basketball yet, might be finally getting a chance to exhale.
What is coming is uncharted territory. The Clark of last week is one of the best players in the WNBA, not just a promising rookie finding her footing. Can she maintain it? What about even improving on it?
The Fever — 12-7 since a 1-8 start — are firmly in position to make the playoffs. They play Saturday in a huge game against potential playoff opponent Minnesota, coached by Cheryl Reeve, who also led the U.S. women in the Olympics.
Indiana is still attracting massive television numbers. Last weekend, 2.3 million tuned into the Fever's game against Seattle. That was 263% more than the next highest non-Fever game over the weekend (New York v. Las Vegas) and 454% higher than the next biggest.
Now imagine Clark playing at something close to her crowd-pleasing college level in the stretch run and actual playoff series?
The WNBA has historically struggled for attention once the NFL season begins. Maybe not in this case, though. Logo threes and no-look passes tend to turn heads. The Clark phenomenon isn’t slowing down, it’s growing.
Every so often a singular talent comes along and, for various reasons, connects with the public and lifts an entire sport — Tiger Woods, Lance Armstorng, even a Conor McGregor. They have to continue to be successful and exciting though for it to last, let alone snowball.
That’s the direction Clark is pointed in. That’s the monster.
In her 11 WNBA games before reports broke that she would be left off the Olympic roster, Clark averaged 15.6 points and 6.4 assists while shooting 35.7 percent from the floor and 29.7 from 3-point range.
In the 15 games between the announcement and the break, she upped all of that to 18.2 points and 9.5 assists while shooting 43.9 percent overall and 35.7 from behind the arc.
In two games since the WNBA’s return, it’s 26.0 points, 9.5 assists with 48.6% shooting. More importantly, the Fever won them both.
Clark, like every rookie in every league, had to deal with a new environment. As with every WNBA rookie, it came quickly — her Iowa season ended April 7 with a loss in the national title game. Eight days later she was drafted. Then came a move, training camp and the season opener on May 14.
More than that, she was instantly both the strategic, and emotional, defensive focus of every opponent.
“Reality is coming,” the legendary Diana Taurasi predicted.
Taurasi wasn’t wrong. It’s just now, maybe a different reality is coming. They can guard her, bump her, dismiss her or whatever, but Clark is finding her game anyway.
If Clark wasn’t — at least in the opinion of the USA Basketball selection committee — worthy of one of the coveted 12 roster spots before, she seemingly was by the time the torch got lit in France.
“If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, a member of that committee, said on July 30.
Whatever. She wasn’t picked, the Americans won gold anyway.
And now Caitlin Clark looks even better — rested and ready for a monster of a finish.
