It took Caitlin Clark over 30 minutes to hit her first three-pointer, but once she did she helped the Indiana Fever secure their first win of the season, 78-73, over the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Clark struggled until late in the fourth quarter. She started the game 0-for-7 from beyond the arc, and 2-for-12 from the field. But Clark hit two three-pointers from the logo in the final 2:27 of the game to clinch the victory for the Fever.
"Some nights the shots are going to fall, some nights they're not," said Clark on the ION Network after the game. "I'm proud of my team, we stepped up and made some big shots."
Indiana entered the game 0-5 on the season, but in Clark's first professional game in Los Angeles, she ignited the crowd with her passing prowess and unabashed shooting range. Clark finished just shy of a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. But more importantly, she earned her first career WNBA win.
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The highly touted matchup between the first and second overall picks in the 2024 WNBA Draft lived up to the hype.
The faceoff between rookies Clark and Sparks' Cameron Brink was the hottest ticket in Tinseltown on Friday night. According to Vivid Seats, the average ticket price was $175, and the most expensive average ticket price in Sparks' history, including the 2016 WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx.
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Brink showed flashes of what made her such a highly touted prospect out of Stanford. The 6-foot, 4-inch, forward had 15 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks in the loss.
Dearica Hamby led the Sparks with 18 points. L.A. had an 11-point lead at halftime, but only scored 28 total points in the second half. The Sparks other first-round selection in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Rockea Jackson, scored 16 points off the bench.
Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 18 points, and 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year Award winner Aliyah Boston had 17.
The Fever's west coast road trip stops in Sin City next, when Clark and Indiana take on the two-time WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces on Saturday night.
