Caitlin Clark drops 45 and rewrites WNBA record book in 29 minutes
The Fever guard became the first WNBA player with 40 points and 10 assists in a game as Indiana beat Seattle 110-107.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
3 min read
Caitlin Clark packed a franchise record, a league first and a late-game rescue act into just 29 minutes Friday night.
The Indiana Fever guard scored a career-best 45 points and handed out 10 assists in a 110-107 win over the Seattle Storm, according to CBS Sports. The performance made Clark the first player in WNBA history to post at least 40 points and 10 assists in the same game.
Clark also broke the Fever’s single-game scoring record, passing the 38-point mark previously reached by Kelsey Mitchell, CBS Sports reported. Her 45 points tied A’ja Wilson for the second-highest individual scoring game of the season.
She did it with sharp shooting and constant pressure: 11-for-18 from the field, 6-for-10 from 3-point range and 17-for-19 at the free throw line. CBS Sports reported that her assists led to 19 Indiana points, giving her a WNBA-record 66 points created.
Clark said afterward she felt she had to push the pace with Aliyah Boston unavailable.
“I just thought I was aggressive from the start,” Clark said, according to CBS Sports. “Missed a shot, came back and made the next. I knew my team needed me to step up with [Aliyah Boston] out.”
Clark takes over late
Indiana trailed by eight with four minutes left before Clark helped drag the Fever back into it. With the score tied at 102-102 inside the final minute, Makayla Timpson lost the ball and Seattle’s Flau’jae Johnson broke the other way.
Clark sprinted back and knocked the ball loose, with CBS Sports reporting it went off Johnson’s leg and out of bounds. On the next trip, Clark went at Johnson again and hit a deep step-back 3 from the left wing to put Indiana ahead 105-102.
She then finished the game at the foul line. Clark also had four steals and two blocks, both season highs, according to CBS Sports.
Asked about the scoring record, Clark downplayed the number and put the focus on Indiana’s bigger goals.
“I mean, it’s cool. I don’t really care,” Clark said, according to CBS Sports. “I know what I’m capable of and I know what this team is capable of, and it’s my job to help us win and be the best team in the WNBA and I don’t think we’re there yet.”
A timely jolt for the Fever
The eruption came after a bumpy stretch for Clark. CBS Sports reported that she had averaged 11.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, five assists and four turnovers in three games since returning from a back injury, while playing 21.9 minutes per game.
That injury followed a controversial loss to the Phoenix Mercury in which Fever coach Stephanie White described two plays against Clark as “two cheap shots,” according to CBS Sports. One play involving Alyssa Thomas was later upgraded to a Flagrant 2, and another landing-space foul knocked Clark out for two weeks, the outlet reported.
Friday also brought another milestone from deep. Clark entered the night with 198 career 3-pointers and reached 200 in her 74th career game, making her the fastest player in WNBA history to hit that total, according to CBS Sports.
The win moved Indiana to 15-10. CBS Sports reported the Fever sit sixth in the standings, tied for the fifth-best record in the crowded playoff race and 1.5 games behind the Dallas Wings for a top-four seed.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS Sports.