Caitlin Clark was, as she usually is whenever she steps on the court, the story of the night – and with no on-court altercations or extra-curricular activity, the Iowa native just let it fly all evening long.
The No. 1 overall pick from this year’s WNBA draft dropped 30 points in a 85-83 victory over the Washington Mystics on Friday night in Commissioner’s Cup action.
Clark also had eight rebounds and six assists along with eight costly turnovers – double the next closest player – that kept the game close.
She iced the game late – hitting three out of four free throws in the final eleven seconds to keep the Mystics at bay and capping off a night where she went 8-15 from the field and 7-13 from beyond the arc.
Those seven triples tied a rookie record held concurrently with Crystal Robinson, formerly of the New York Liberty.
Caitlin Clark dominated for the Indiana Fever and led them to a 85-83 victory over Washington
Clark was especially deadly from deep – knocking down seven threes to tie a rookie record
Stefanie Dolson led the way for the Mystics with 19 points and six rebounds as Washington saw five players reach double-digit points.
Elsewhere for Washington, Ariel Atkins scored 16 points, Karlie Samuelson had 11, Aaliyah Edwards contributed 10 points and 12 rebounds and Myisha Hines-Allen also scored 10 points for Washington.
The Mystics again played without Brittney Sykes (ankle) and Shikira Austin (hip).
The contest was a Commissioner’s Cup affair. Indiana is 2-1 in such games and Washington is 0-3.
Clark was fouled with 11.9 seconds left and hit both free-throw attempts to give the Fever an 84-80 lead. Samuelson answered with a trey to bring Washington within one with 7.5 seconds left.
Clark split two free throws with 5.4 seconds left to boost Indiana’s lead to two. Atkins didn’t get a 3-point shot out of her hands before time expired, and it bounced off the rim anyway.
Indiana shot 45.2 percent from the field, including 16 of 35 makes from 3-point range.
The Mystics connected on 43.1 percent of their attempts and were 13-of-34 shooting from behind the arc.
Caitlin Clark drives to the basket during the game against the Washington Mystics on Friday
She iced the game late – hitting three of four free throws to keep Washington at bay
Indiana led 28-19 after the first quarter and Clark opened the second period with a 3-pointer to cap a 13-0 burst and give the Fever a 12-point lead.
But Erica Wheeler’s basket with 7:27 left in the half — which gave Indiana a 38-27 lead — was the Fever’s last hoop before the break.
Atkins scored the first seven points of a 10-0 run that saw the Mystics move within one. Washington caught Indiana at 40 on a 3-pointer by Samuelson with 37.3 seconds left in the half.
Clark made two free throws with 23.7 seconds remaining as the Fever led 42-40 at halftime.
Clark drained three 3-pointers in the final 3:55 of the third quarter as Indiana took a 66-64 lead into the final stanza.
Speaking before the game, Clark addressed the situation with Chennedy Carter saying that she doesn’t feel her Chicago Sky opponent should apologize: ‘Basketball is competitive, I get it.
‘Sometimes emotions get the better of you, it happened to me multiple times throughout the course of my career.
She added: ‘There are no grudges, there is nothing like that. It’s a sport, it’s competitive, it is not going to be nice all the time. That’s not what basketball is and I think that people who play the sport at the highest level understand that.’
