The WNBA season returned from the Olympics with a bang
After a well-deserved break, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are fit again and have continued to put up breathtaking numbers
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever continued their post-Olympic streak on Wednesday as a triple-double from Clark helped Indiana to a 93-86 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks, the Fever’s fifth straight win and ninth in their last 11 games.
Clark, the favorite for WNBA Rookie of the Year, was named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month and Rookie of the Month for August on Wednesday. She was also named Eastern Conference Player of the Week earlier in the week. Clark looked every bit the part on Wednesday, putting up another stellar stat line, with 24 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. She also had three steals (and recorded seven turnovers as well). Clark has played particularly well since WNBA play resumed following the Paris Olympics.
Clark is the only WNBA rookie to record a triple-double in league history, and she now has two. She recorded one in an upset win over the New York Liberty on July 6.
The highlight of the game came in the third quarter when Clark broke loose and made a nifty behind-the-back pass to Aliyah Boston, who fired another pass to Erica Wheeler on the perimeter before Wheeler drained a three-pointer to give Indiana a 66-61 lead.
Boston finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds, with Kelsey Mitchell adding 18. The win over LA helps the Fever hold onto sixth place and clinch a playoff spot on Tuesday night. Clark said before Wednesday’s game that she came to Indiana “with the expectation that this (making the playoffs) is going to happen.”
“This is not a party,” Clark said. “I’m not just happy to be in the playoffs. I think we have the kind of team that can win and advance.”
Wednesday night began a six-game home series for Indiana, which began the 2024 season with a brutally tough schedule. The Fever next host the Minnesota Lynx on Friday.
