UNCASVILLE, Conn. — All eyes were on Caitlin Clark as she made her WNBA debut with the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night.
But Clark came far from putting on the scintillating offensive showcase that made her famous at Iowa.
Clark struggled to get into an offensive rhythm for most of the night with the Connecticut Sun bottling her up in a 92-71 loss for the Fever at Mohegan Sun Arena. Despite that, Clark still finished with 20 points on 5-for-15 shooting, including 4-for-11 from beyond the arc, in 32 minutes to go along with three assists, no rebounds and a putrid 10 turnovers. The 10 turnovers were most in a WNBA debut, according to Basketball Reference.
The 22-year-old’s debut didn’t get off to a strong start as she missed the first four shots she took and picked up two fouls within the first five minutes of the game, leading her to take a quick seat on the bench.
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Clark finally got the ball to go through the hoop with 5:24 left in the second quarter for her first career WNBA basket. She beat Sun forward DeWanna Bonner in transition before converting a layup. Before the game Clark remarked that scoring on a high-percentage look would be a great way to get her first points in the league.
There were no Steph Curry-like 3-pointers from Clark, though. She attempted one shot from the logo in the second half but it harmlessly hit the front rim. Clark did punctuate her first half with a trey as she came off a screen and drilled her shot from the left wing.
Much of Clark’s performance was plagued by turnovers. Connecticut guard DiJonai Carrington played terrific defense on Clark, including picking the star’s pocket and turning it into an easy basket late in the first half.
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Aside from the turnovers, which included dribbling the ball off her foot on the way to the basket, Clark looked a little more like herself in the second half. She drained three 3-pointers over the final 20 minutes.
Clark surely will look to put a forgettable debut quickly behind her and will get the chance to do so Thursday with the Fever taking on the New York Liberty.
Featured image via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
