Caitlin Clark’s WNBA preseason debut went much like her senior year at Iowa. She hit a bunch of 3s and did so in front of a sold-out crowd.
But it didn’t end in a win.
Just weeks after playing in the NCAA championship game, Clark made her WNBA debut for the Indiana Fever Friday night in a preseason game against the Dallas Wings. She hit three first-quarter 3s and scored a game-high 21 points.
But it wasn’t enough for the win as All-Star Arike Ogunbowale sunk the Fever with a step-back 3-pointer with 3 seconds remaining in a 79-76 Wings win.
Clark had a contested look a game-tying 3, but it was well off the mark as the buzzer sounded.
Road crowd greets Clark with cheers
A crowd of 7,000 showed up to the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas to see Clark’s debut. They gave a raucous cheer to her first game-day introduction as a WNBA player.
It didn’t take long for Clark to give fans what they paid to see. Less then a minute into the game, Clark pulled up from beyond the arc on the right wing for her first 3-point attempt in a WNBA uniform. It sank through the net for a 5-2 Fever lead.
Minutes later, she did it again. Her second 3 extended Indiana’s first quarter lead to 14-3. She then drew a foul on a 3-point shot and hit 2 of 3 free throws to extend the Fever lead to 16-9 midway through the first.
Her third made 3 with 2:55 left in the quarter put fellow rookie and former Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon (No. 5 pick) on the floor. She knocked her former Big Ten rival to the court to get open, then pulled up from the top of the arc.
Officials didn’t see enough contact to warrant a whistle, and Clark’s 3 extended Indiana’s lead to 19-15. She then took her first break on the bench. When she left the game, she’d scored 11 of Indiana’s 19 points while hitting 3 of 4 3s.
When she returned early in the second quarter, she picked up where she left off. This time, she pulled up for a step-back 3 over two-time All-Star Natasha Clark.
Before the half was over, she showed off the playmaking that made her the NCAA’s assists leader in addition to being its top scorer last season. She did so in tandem with last year’s No. 1 pick and reigning WNBA rookie of the year Aliyah Boston.
Midway through the second quarter, Clark drove to the top of the key and drew a double team, allowing Boston to break free to attack the rim. Clark found Boston with a bounce-pass through traffic that led to an open layup.
Foul trouble limited Clark after halftime. She picked up her third and fourth fouls on consecutive third-quarter possessions and went to the bench midway through the quarter without having hit a second-half bucket.
Caitlin Clark caught fire from 3 in her WNBA preseason debut. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
She returned with 6:55 remaining in the fourth and Indiana leading, 62-60. Her fifth 3 of the game gave Indiana a 67-65 lead.
But Ogunbowale’s late heroics spoiled her debut and secured the Dallas win.
Clark finished with 21 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. She shot 6 of 15 from the floor and 5 of 13 from beyond the arc.
Undrafted rookie Jaelyn Brown led Dallas with 21 points and five rebounds. Ogunbowale tallied 19 points, three rebounds and three assists. Her game-winner was her only make from long-distance in seven attempts.
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Caitlin Clark leads Fever in debut
Though not an official contest, Clark’s streak of 20-point games continues in her WNBA preseason debut. She scored a team-high 21 points mostly from a 5-of-13 outing from beyond the arc. She shot 40% overall and was 4-of-5 from the free throw line. The point guard hasn’t scored fewer than 20 points in a game since December 2022.
The assists (two) didn’t come as easy as the 3s and it will take time for the chemistry with Boston (eight points, 4-10 FG) to develop. Clark added three rebounds and two steals, as well as a game-high five turnovers in 28:10 of playing time.
This game felt like a regular season contest from start to finish and the atmosphere delivered. It will become tougher once the games pile up against bigger, stronger defenders every other night, but Clark proved any doubters wrong. She’ll be fine in the pros and Indiana is going to be a fun team to watch as the season rolls onward.
Clark tells four-time WNBA champion Sheryl Swoopes in the post-game interview she thought it was a “good kickoff to the WNBA season” and praised the atmosphere. There’s little things she wants to clean up
“These are good learning experiences for us,” Clark said. “This doesn’t count [in the standings]. [We’ll] go back and watch the film — film doesn’t lie — and learn from that.”
Clark tosses it up on a final shot to try and tie it from the corner. It doesn’t go, but what a WNBA debut for the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer.
Arike is stone cold in the final minutes of games (as fans of the college game know well). She puts Dallas up, 79-76, with a filthy step-back 3. Three seconds on the clock
Arike Ogunbowale would like a word. She ties the game at 76 with a floater in the final minute. Clark attempts a 3 that misses, Wheeler rebounds, Clark drives into a clear lane and is denied by Natasha Howard. Clark calls for a foul — her first late-game pleading for a call as a pro — but it’s Howard’s third block of the night.
Tie game, 26.7 seconds on the clock in what doesn’t feel like a preseason contest at all
Clark got her shot blocked with 26.7 remaining and the score tied at 76. But only 2 seconds are on the shot clock …
Clark at the FT line with the game tied at 74 with 1:15 left. She sinks both
I really like Sides leaving her starters in here in a close game, even though it’s a preseason opener. WNBA training camp is such a small window and the Fever’s opening schedule is TOUGH (Connecticut, New York, Seattle, Las Vegas). Put them in the situation now when it doesn’t matter in the standings and build from there.
Clark extends her game high with five turnovers. Many on very ambitious passes.
Sure, another 3, why not. Clark hits off the inbound play on an assist by Erica Wheeler. Up to 19 points shooting 5-of-10 from 3-point range.
Sides subs her starters back in at 6:26 of the fourth quarter.
Clark is on the bench to start the fourth quarter. The only Fever starter out there is NaLyssa Smith. We’ll see if she sees any more time tonight, or if Sides decides to see how players further down the depth chart handle a close game in the fourth quarter. Indiana lost 16 games by single digits last year, a growing pain given the youth on the team.
Such a pretty pull-up by Jaelyn Brown for her seventh bucket of the game. She’s up to a game-high 17 points for Dallas and looks like a confident, comfortable vet out there. If Brown doesn’t make the Wings roster, she’ll likely land on some hardship contracts throughout the season to fill in for seven-day and 10-day stints.
Clark heads to the bench after picking up her fourth foul with 4:50 left in the third quarter.
That’s the fourth turnover for Clark on another good defensive play by Dallas. There were times at Iowa that turnovers piled up and it will be a focus for improvement throughout the season against better defenders than she faced in college.
“Catch, shoot, from DFW.”
Everyone prepped their deep-distance location calls, I see.
Clark is out there for the start of the second half …
Fever at the half
It will be interesting to see how much playing time Clark receives in the second half. The Fever have 15 players in camp and need to cut three before the season opener on May 14. There’s one more preseason game on the schedule next week at home. Head coach Christie Sides will probably want to see more from those players in the mix for final roster spots.
The trio of NaLyssa Smith (16:31), Aliyah Boston (17:33) and Clark (16:05) each played at least five minutes more than any other Fever players in the first half. All are locks for the team and starting positions. Kelsey Mitchell (out, left ankle) and Katie Lou Samuelson (out, right ankle and coming back from maternity leave) will fill out the projected starting lineup when they’re back.
At the half, the Fever lead 48-40, with Clark posting 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting (4-of-8 from 3).
