Caitlin Clark’s WNBA preseason debut looked a lot like her senior year at Iowa. She hit a bunch of 3’s and did it in front of a sold out crowd.
But it didn’t end in victory.
Just weeks after playing in the NCAA championship game, Clark made her WNBA debut for the Indiana Fever in a preseason game against the Dallas Wings on Friday night. She hit three three-pointers in the first quarter and scored 21 points in the game.
It wasn’t enough for the win, as All-Star Arike Ogunbowale sank the Fever with a step-back 3-pointer with three seconds left in a 79-76 Wings win.
Clark had a contested look, tying the game at 3, but it was way off when the buzzer sounded.
The crowd on the road greets Clark with cheers
A crowd of 7,000 people came to the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, to see Clark’s debut. It added a raucous cheer to her first game day introduction as a WNBA player.
It didn’t take long for Clark to give the fans what they paid for. Less than a minute into the game, Clark pulled up from behind the arc on the right wing for her first three-point attempt in a WNBA uniform. It dropped through the net to give the Fever a 5-2 lead.
A few minutes later she did it again. Her second 3-pointer extended Indiana’s first-quarter lead to 14-3. She then fouled a three-point shot and hit two of three free throws to extend the Fever lead to 16-9 midway through the first.
Her third 3-pointer with 2:55 left in the quarter put fellow rookie and former Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon (No. 5 overall pick) on the floor. Clark hit her former Big Ten rival downfield to get open and then stopped 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. Then she took her first break on the couch. When she left the game, she had scored 11 of Indiana’s 19 points while hitting 3 of 4 three-pointers.
When she returned early in the second quarter, she picked up where she left off. This time she stopped for a step back from 3 on two-time All-Star Natasha Clark.
Clark’s first assist goes to Aliyah Boston
Before the half was over, Clark showed off the playmaking that made her the NCAA’s assistant leader in addition to last season’s leading scorer. She did this together with Aliyah Boston, last year’s number 1 and reigning WNBA rookie of the year.
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 possessions in the third quarter and went to the bench midway through the quarter without hitting a bucket in the second half.
She returned with 6:55 remaining in the fourth and Indiana in the lead, 62-60. Her fifth three-pointer of the game gave Indiana a 67-65 lead.
But Ogunbowale’s late heroics spoiled her debut and secured victory in Dallas.
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, but did score five goals with some ambitious passing.
“Overall, definitely what I expected,” Clark said after the game.
Undrafted rookie Jaelyn Brown led Dallas with 21 points and five rebounds. Ogunbowale scored 19 points, three rebounds and three assists. Her game winner was her only long-range goal in seven attempts.
