Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark made WNBA history yet again on Wednesday in their win over the struggling Los Angeles Sparks. This is becoming the norm and a regular occurrence for the rookie superstar.
She is open as soon as she gets off the bus. The Fever rookie buried her 100th 3-pointer of the season in a 93-86 victory over the Sparks, making her the first rookie to enter the triple-digit triple club and only the sixth player in the 28-year history of the league. She joins Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty, Diana Taurasi with the Phoenix Mercury, Dallas Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale, Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm, Kelsey Plum with the Las Vegas Aces and teammate Kelsey Mitchell.
Among the few WNBA players to knock down 100 3-pointers in a season, Clark is the only one to also post 200 assists.
Clark finished the game with 24 points on an efficient 8-of-17 shooting (4-of-10 from 3-point range), 10 rebounds, 10 assists, seven turnovers and three steals, her second career triple-double. They are the only triple-doubles by a rookie in WNBA history.
“These are games you really need to win at home,” Clark said. “The more we can win, the better we can position ourselves for the playoffs. These fans spend a lot of money to come here and watch us and have fun with us. So, you want to kind of give them a show every time we’re in here.”
Embed from Getty ImagesAs the clock wound down, Clark was still one rebound shy of her historic triple-double, but earned it with an easy grab of the final miss of the game. Her teammates and the sellout crowd of 16,645 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse knew immediately what it meant.
“Every game she gets a little better,” said Indiana’s Christie Sides, who was rewarded in her own right by being named WNBA Coach of the Month on Wednesday. “Every game she gets a little bit [more] understanding of the speed and the quickness. I love the conversations with her about the game. She’s playing really well … she had some amazing assists tonight.”
Aliyah Boston, the Fever’s previous No. 1 pick out of the University of South Carolina, had a spectacular game as well, with 24 points on 10-of-16 from the field, 14 rebounds and four helpers.
Right now, as things stand, Clark is on pace to shatter the Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas’ single-season record of 316 assists with 336 and finish third on the all-time 3-pointer list with 120, behind Ionescu’s record of 128 in a season and Taurasi’s 121. She already holds the dubious record for turnovers at 188. In her defense, she handles the ball 95% of the time.
In just 34 career games, Clark has already proven herself to be an elite guard, not only with her dynamic scoring but also with her elite passing abilities. She has the third-most career games with 20 points and 10 rebounds at seven, behind only Courtney Vandersloot of the Liberty (10 in 422 games) and Taurasi (nine in 559 games).
It has been an astonishing rookie season for Clark, who came into the league with unprecedented hype and attention after a stellar 4-year career at Iowa under coach Lisa Bluder that saw her break the NCAA all-time scoring record, previously set by Pete Maravich, and reach two national championship games.
After an up and down adjustment period in her first month of the season, Clark has become one of the most productive players in the entire league and the overwhelming favorite for WNBA Rookie of the Year. She is not the only rookie making history, though, as rival Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky has already set the record for most rebounds in a season.
The Fever have already clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2016, breaking the longest playoff drought in WNBA history.
