INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark pointed to the “Indy” trimmed in gold across her chest, then stuck out her tongue and unleashed a massive roar, matching the energy of the sellout Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd.
Clark had just delivered two of the game’s biggest plays. She went step-for-step with Seattle’s Falu’jae Johnson on a fast break and cleanly disrupted her layup attempt, then drilled a step-back, tie-breaking 3-pointer on the other end with 39.1 seconds remaining.
What we witnessed from Clark during Friday’s 110-107 win over the Seattle Storm was the stuff of legends; a performance that will be talked about for years to come.
Clark scored a franchise-record 45 points and did so in less than 30 minutes of playing time, a feat never before accomplished in WNBA history.
She’s the first to register 40 points and 10 assists in a single game, and with her six 3-pointers she became the fastest player in league history to reach 200 career triples — and moved past current Fever staffer Tully Bevilaqua for fifth-most in franchise history (204).
“Caitlin does things that you haven’t seen. It’s surreal,” coach Stephanie White said. “I looked down at the stat sheet at the end of the game and it was like, ‘Holy (expletive). She was absolutely incredible.'”
Clark’s historic performance was cathartic; the long-awaited and well-earned breakthrough as the 24-year old continues navigating a nagging back injury that’s forced her to miss five games this season and had her on a minutes restriction in each of her past four outings.
“It’s tough when you come back from injury,” White observed. “Your body feels different. Mentally you want it to happen so badly, sometimes you second guess yourself. And that’s part of it. … What she did tonight, that was huge. It was big time.”
Clark arrived on a mission Friday night. She wanted to play more aggressively, to step up with fellow No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston sidelined by a right lower leg injury. Back injuries are fickle, but on this night, Clark’s body allowed her to follow through on that determination. She came out with “a lot of bounce” and was playing “lighter,” White said.
You could tell she was feeling better from the jump and that translated statistically to 19 first-half points and six assists (five in the first quarter) in 12:42 of playing time.
When Clark’s shots weren’t falling immediately in the first quarter (five points on 2-of-5 shooting), she focused on establishing herself as a passer, linking up with Kelsey Mitchell (30 points) and Monique Billings (16 points), whose game-tying layup with 71 seconds left in regulation came via a Clark dime.
“Making shots is one thing, but to play in the flow that Caitlin played with — her ability to hit her teammates on time and on target, and to make reads at all three levels were really good,” White said. “She played at her pace. She didn’t get rushed. It finally all came together.”
The shots began falling and the points began piling up in the second quarter, with Clark making a concerted effort to get to the free-throw line, where she converted 9-of-9 attempts as part of an explosive 14-point frame. She earned five more trips to the line in the third and scored 10 points to keep the Fever within six entering the fourth.
And that’s when the Clark magic really took hold.
Sixteen points on 5-of-7 shooting with a couple triples and four free throws, plus a rebound.
“You have to visualize having those type of nights and that’s what I did,” Clark said of her performance. “It’s not always going to go your way. Sometimes there’s going to be a stretch where the ball’s not going through, but you can’t get discouraged. … You just have to dig your feet in and know when it’s not going your way, nobody cares. Find a way to make it better. Find a way to help your team win. That’s what I always try to do.”
And for as good as Clark was offensively, she was equally impactful on the defensive end, registering a plus-16 rating for the game with four steals and a couple blocks.
An area of her game that’s constantly under improvement and subject to self-scrutiny, No. 22 made herself a factor on defense, with her performance highlighted by the potential game-saving denial of Johnson on the breakaway layup attempt.
“I don’t know if I got her on the arm or if it was clean,” Clark smirked. “But I’m not sure the ref was in position to make the call. I think it was pretty clean. I just tried to make a play on the ball.”
From there, the three-time WNBA All-Star set about delivering one of the season’s most electrifying moments.
Clark “freestyled” that play, racing to midcourt, where she successfully dribbled around Johnson, then got her out of position with a step-back maneuver at the wing. Clark took her gather step, then rose and fired the go-ahead 3-pointer.
The shot swished through, the defense held and the Fever had their most thrilling win of the season.
“(Johnson) made a couple good plays on the ball, got a couple deflections, and I kind of got her out of position a little bit and was able to step back to my left, and it went in,” Clark smiled. “So that was nice.”
Clark’s 29 minutes played are her most since June 20 when she played 34 minutes in a 113-96 loss at Atlanta.
Asked if there were any discussions of her checking out in the fourth quarter (aside from a brief defensive switch late), Clark smiled and replied: “Steph and the trainers know better than that. They would have gotten an ear full.”
“But I told Steph at halftime I felt really good and I didn’t want to lose this game,” Clark continued. “I’m going to do everything I can to take care of my body and then we hopefully we get back at it tomorrow. … I know I’m doing all the right things and there was no way I was ever coming out of the game in the fourth quarter. It didn’t matter. I would play with one leg.”
The Fever (15-10) host the New York Liberty at 8 p.m. Saturday.
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