Caitlin Clark etched her name in the WNBA record books with a historic performance on Friday night. The Indiana Fever guard recorded the first 40-point, 10-assist game in league history, leading her team to a thrilling 110-107 victory over the Seattle Storm in Indianapolis.
Clark finished with 45 points (11-of-18 shooting, 6-of-10 from three-point range, 17-of-19 from the free-throw line) and 10 assists, also setting a franchise record for most points in a single game. The performance came just four games after returning from a two-week absence due to a back injury.
"I feel like you just have to believe you're going to have those type of nights," Clark said after the game. "You have to visualize having those type of nights. I feel like that's what I did."
The game hung in the balance until the final minute. After the Fever trailed by eight points midway through the fourth quarter, Clark chased down and blocked a breakaway layup attempt by Flau'jae Johnson, then hit the go-ahead three-pointer to put Indiana up 105-102. She made all four of her free throws in the final 17 seconds to seal the victory.
The former Iowa star scored 16 points in the fourth quarter alone, playing all but 26 seconds of the final period. Fever head coach Stephanie White praised her star player: "She does things that we haven't seen. Looking down at the stat sheet at the end of the game and it's like, 'Holy (expletive). Forty-five and 10.' Just an absolutely incredible performance."
Clark also became the fastest player to reach 200 career three-pointers in WNBA history during the first half. The performance came after a shooting slump — 3-of-19 from three in her previous three games — showcasing her ability to bounce back.
The Fever will look to build on this momentum as they host the New York Liberty on Saturday night.
Sources
- AP News: https://apnews.com/article/caitlin-clark-fever-3-pointers-9f3164aa44cf73a525d7ce02846d3eb9
