Caitlin Clark struggles in WNBA debut defeat

Caitlin Clark struggles in WNBA debut defeat

/ 09:33 PM May 15, 2024

Indiana Fever Caitlin Clark  WNBA

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark ( 22) in the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Women’s basketball sensation Caitlin Clark scored 20 points but gave up 10 turnovers on a tough WNBA debut as her Indiana Fever team fell to a 92-71 loss to the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday.

Clark, NCAA Division I basketball’s all-time leading scorer, has brought unprecedented attention to women’s basketball with her college career which rewrote the record books and shattered attendance and television viewing records.

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Indiana took her as the number one draft pick, maintaining the buzz around Clark which had peaked with her run to the national championship game with Iowa.

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The hype in the build-up was always going to be hard to live up to, but Clark and her team endured a tough night against a strong Suns defense.

“There’s a lot to learn from, it’s the first one,” Clark told a post-game press conference.”There’s going to be good ones, there’s going to be bad ones.”

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The game at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, was sold out, with courtside seats being offered for as much as $4,262 on secondary markets.

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While she was making her debut on the road, it was evident from the crowd reactions that many had come just to see the star of last month’s NCAA tournament.

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Clark’s 20 points made her the Fever’s top scorer and came on 5-of-15 shooting, 4-of-11 on three-pointers and 6-of-6 on free throws. She also had three assists, two steals and 10 turnovers.

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Clark struggled early in the game, picking up two touch fouls which saw her head to the bench prematurely.

Her first points did not come until there was 5:24 remaining in the second quarter, although she found her flow later with 13 second-half points.

“I would have liked to have played a little better tonight. Obviously getting into foul trouble and then you are going to sit on the bench and try to come back and get a little bit of a flow,” she said.

“Obviously too many turnovers — that’s not going to get the job done. There’s a lot of things to learn from.

“I thought it took me a little while to settle into the game. I thought the second half was a lot better minus some of the turnovers,” she said.

The Sun’s star forward Alyssa Thomas recorded a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists.

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Clark will make her home debut in Indianapolis on Thursday against last year’s WNBA runner-up New York Liberty.

TAGS: WNBA

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