Caitlin Clark’s home debut: Star rookie struggles in loss to New York Liberty

LIVE DECLARATION IS OVER18 updates

• Thu May 16, 2024 6:08 PM MST

  Subs are here as New York, which returned all five starters from its second-place finish in the finals, picks up a win to move to 2-0. Clark ends her night with nine points (2-8/1-7/4-4), seven rebounds, six assists, three turnovers, one block and five fouls. It is her first game in which she has scored fewer than 20 points since the 2022-2023 season at Iowa. But she impacted the game in other ways and there were glimpses of potential for the whole team. These two meet again on Saturday and we’ll see what Sides and crew do leading up to the rematch. There wasn’t much time to work on adjustments, which Sides said was one of her biggest frustrations after the loss to the Sun. Fever drops to 0-2.

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  Thu May 16, 2024 5:43 PM MST

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  4Q: New York 67, Indiana 56

  Caitlin Clark came back in to loud cheers, grabbed a rebound and hit her first home 3-pointer a few minutes later. The defense got some stops and suddenly it’s an 11-point game. Clark settled on the final possession and made another nice pass to Smith, but it’s a little late on the clock. Clark is approaching a triple-double with nine points, seven rebounds and six assists. THAT is the kind of line that will make a difference in the game’s outcome, as we see here over three quarters. It may not mean a win against the Liberty, but ultimately the Fever will be playing against teams not at the top of the table. She is only 2-6 (1-5 of 3).

• Thu May 16, 2024 5:42 PM MST

  Caitlin Clark does Caitlin Clark things to try to pull the Fever from a big second half deficit against the Liberty.

• Thu May 16, 2024 5:29 PM MST

  Caitlin Clark’s college coaches are home for her first home game in Indiana

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  Thu May 16, 2024 5:20 PM MST

  Caitlin Clark makes her fourth foul (another on Stewart) 29 seconds into the second half. She gets six in the W and Sides leaves her there with Wheeler, Smith, Boston and Samuelson. AKA, today’s starters.

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  Thu May 16, 2024 5:04 PM MST

  Six seconds left, Stewart was shooting free throws and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was STILL over Clark on his way to the other end of the court. Some good feeds from Clark to Boston to end the quarter, but the Fever trail, 48-31. Stewart has 20 points for New York. Fever’s defenses can’t stop her.

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  Thu May 16, 2024 4:54 PM MST

  Fever takes a timeout with 3:37 until halftime. Indiana head coach Christie Sides gave some starters long breaks on the bench. Boston re-entered at 5:55 am. Samuelson at 4:24. Mitchell also came back in. And Clark is back on the field after the timeout. She left at 7:55 am.

• Thu May 16, 2024 4:38 PM MST
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  Thu May 16, 2024 4:37 PM MST

  1Q: New York 25, Indiana 16

  It was a frustrating quarter from a game flow standpoint, but a much better quarter for Indiana and Clark than the season opener. They look more settled together. Clark is 1-of-4 for two points and three turnovers, but she also has three assists and three rebounds. At the professional level, scoring a lot of points won’t lead to wins as easily as at the college level (although Iowa often lost when scoring > 40). Her ability to impact the game in other ways is crucial.

  Stewart is 5-11 for 11 points for New York. Sabrina Ionescu has nine. Katie Lou Samuelson has eight points for Indiana.

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  Thu May 16, 2024 4:25 PM MST

  OH?! A few words between Jonquel Jones and Aliyah Boston, and it looks like a few more players got involved in the confrontation. Jones called for a foul on Boston and it is being reviewed for a hostile act. These two teams play each other again on Saturday in Brooklyn (1:00 PM ET tip-off, so a very quick turnaround).

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  Thu May 16, 2024 4:14 PM MST

  That little scoop pass to Katie Lou Samuelson is exactly what Clark is good at and something Samuelson may not be ready for because they haven’t played together much yet. That will clear up as the season progresses.

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  Thu May 16, 2024 4:00 PM MST

  Greetings from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, where Clark is minutes away from his first home induction. Even with fans filling in here, it’s a stronger performance than last season. Their 2023 average was 4.056 and the high was 7.356 against the Connecticut Sun in Aliyah Boston’s home debut.

• Thu May 16, 2024 3:52 PM MST

  In the pregame presser before her first regular-season home game, Caitlin Clark spoke about her awareness of the fans who spend big money to come see her and the sense of responsibility she has taken on since her days at Iowa as the greatest star on the field.

  Caitlin Clark is self-aware. She recognized how many families spend a lot of money and make sacrifices to attend games.

  “I understand because I was that young girl. … That’s why I didn’t miss a single game in college.” pic.twitter.com/DxKe69535a

  — Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) May 16, 2024

• Thu May 16, 2024 3:15 PM MST

  Caitlin Clark looks on, Indianapolis

• Thu May 16, 2024 3:05 PM MST

  The scene in Indianapolis

  MERCH

  So much different Fever merchandise in the Pacers/Fever team store, where there’s a constant stream of people checking out new gear. I love that they have collars and stuffed animals – it’s the kind of “extra” stuff that was missing from the W until a few years ago pic.twitter.com/xPfMMtNd1x

  — Cassandra Negley (@CasNegley) May 16, 2024

• Thu May 16, 2024 2:53 PM MST

  How Caitlin Clark’s debut is stacking up

• Thu May 16, 2024 2:46 PM MST

  WNBA says all teams will fly to games on charter by May 21, after rough schedule rollout

  The WNBA’s rollout of their new charter flight program has not gone as smoothly as it could have, but the situation will be rectified within the week.

  After some teams had to take commercial flights for their first few games, a WNBA spokesperson told The Athletic on Thursday All teams will fly with a charter for their away games from May 21. The only exceptions are the Chicago Sky/Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun/New York Liberty games. Due to the proximity, these are bus rides.

  Read the full story here.

• Thu May 16, 2024 2:32 PM MST