Caitlin Clark didn’t get long to downplay breaking another WNBA rookie record and ended a season-long script on July 6.
She became the first rookie ever to net a triple double as the Indiana Fever beat the New York Liberty 83–78 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Teammate Aliyah Boston interjected as Clark downplayed the achievement.
“Thirteen assists means my teammates made 13 shots on my passes, so that goes to them,” Clark added.
“She’s so humble isn’t she? That’s pretty cool, Caitlin. Great job, sister,” Boston chimed in.
Clark acknowledged amid Boston’s comments “I don’t know what to say” regarding the triple double and upset win. The rookie superstar guard tallied 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists as she helped the Fever snap a nine-game losing streak against the Liberty (17-4).
Fans gave Clark a standing ovation when she hit the triple double. Teammates doused her with water in the locker room afterward.
“This franchise has had a lot of really great players, so to be part of that and to come here was a perfect place for me, so I’m just very lucky and fortunate,” Clark added.
Before Saturday, New York, the top team in the Eastern Conference, made Clark look like a rookie and the Fever look like a team headed toward a third-straight No. 1 draft pick. New York spoiled Clark’s home debut in May, 102–66 as Clark mustered nine points. The Liberty then beat the Fever 91–80 in the second meeting between back-to-back games. It looked only more ugly for the Fever when the Liberty held Clark to three points in a 104–68 defeat on June 2.
On Saturday, the Fever looked different as they established momentum with a 24–18 lead in the first quarter, buoyed by an 8–0 run to start the game. Clark and Boston got their team going during that initial stretch.
While Clark and Erica Wheeler pushed the lead to double figures twice in the second quarter, the Liberty turned the tables with a 12–0 run to grab a 32–21 lead. Kayla Thornton and Kennedy Burke buried three-points for the Liberty to spark that run.
Indiana held on to the lead at halftime, 39–38, but the Liberty put together another big run, 13–4, in the third quarter for a 57–50 lead. New York held the seven-point lead through the end of the quarter behind a couple of big shots by Betnijah Laney-Hamliton.
It looked bleak early in the fourth quarter for the Fever when Breanna Stewart buried a pair of free throws for a 66–55 lead, but Indiana chipped away at the lead. The Fever never got closer than nine points until 5:44 remained in the game when Damiris Dantas made a layup for a 71–64 score.
Indiana went on a 19–7 run from that point on with a variety of players making key baskets down the stretch. NaLyssa Smith hit free throws, Clark hit a shot, Kelsey Mitchell buried a big three-pointer, and Boston made a layup as the Fever raced to a 77–75 lead with 2:04 left. Lexie Hull gave the Fever some breathing room with a basket, 79–75, and Boston and Mitchell iced the game at the free-throw line.
“That’s a lot of time in basketball,” Clark told the WNBA reporter. “And really after that, we didn’t look back. And honestly, it was our defense. We kept getting stops on that end of the floor.”
Clark assisted on two baskets in the final 2:31, and she grabbed a rebound to end the game as the Liberty tried to make a last-gasp effort.
“You celebrate it, and you enjoy it, but at the same time, there’s so much more we can learn from it,” Clark told the WNBA reporter.
