UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Caitlin Clark struggled early in her WNBA debut before finishing with 20 points as the Indiana Fever fell to the Connecticut Sun 92-71 on Tuesday night.
Clark also had 10 turnovers.
Alyssa Thomas led the Sun with 13 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, registering the 12th triple-double of her career. DeWanna Bonner added 20 points and DiJonai Carrington had 16. Carrington also was a major reason for Clark’s early offensive struggles, hounding the guard.
“Disappointed and nobody likes to lose, that’s how it is,” Clark said. “Can’t beat yourself up too much about one game.”
The NCAA’s all-time Division I scoring leader, who finished the game 5 for 15 from the field, went scoreless in the first quarter. She missed her first four shots before finally getting on the board midway through the second period.
Clark stole the ball around the foul line and drove the length of the court before laying the ball in. She later added two free throws and hit a 3-pointer with 29.9 seconds left in the first half to finish the opening 20 minutes with seven points, hitting two of her seven shot attempts. The Fever trailed 49-39 at the break.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The Fever got within 63-57 late in the third quarter on two free throws by Clark, but couldn’t get closer the rest of the way.
Clark did start heating up from the field, hitting four 3-pointers, including one from long range.
“Caitlin was able to get her some looks, able to knock them down. our spacing was not great,” Indiana coach Christie Sides said. “Connecticut came in and punched us in the mouth tonight. We’ll be in the gym tomorrow watching a lot of video trying to figure out how not to turn the ball over 25 times.”
Clark broke the WNBA all-time record for turnovers in a debut game that was held by Cynthia Cooper-Dyke when she had nine.
Before the game, Clark admitted she was eager for her WNBA debut. It was one of four games on the league’s opening night to tip-off the WNBA’s 28th season. New York, which was runner-up in the WNBA Finals, visited Washington to start the evening.
She sat around most of the day at the hotel and had to wait to get on the court when her team arrived nearly 2:30 hours before tipoff.
“I just want to get out there and play,” she said. “I got plenty of time to sit and think about it. Still this is exciting. This is fun. ... There's just a different buzz in the air.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Even before playing a WNBA game, Clark has left her mark in the pros. The league's draft had record viewership, and her No. 22 Indiana Fever jerseys have been flying off the shelves. There were hundreds of fans walking around the arena in Clark jerseys and t-shirts.
Three WNBA teams have already moved their games to bigger arenas to keep up with the demand for tickets to watch her play. Her debut in Connecticut is sold out — the first sellout for the Sun in a season opener since they played their inaugural game at Mohegan Sun Arena in 2003 after moving from Orlando. There's also a huge media turnout with nearly four-times the number of credentials issued for this game than a normal Sun contest.
Clark and her teammates took the court in a morning shootaround at the empty arena. She said afterward that she planned to watch more film during the day in her hotel room.
This was the second sold-out crowd Clark has played in front of in her extremely young WNBA career. Her preseason game in Dallas was sold out, too. More than 13,000 fans also turned up for her only home preseason game.
Clark's home debut will be Thursday, when the Fever host the New York Liberty.
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