Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever won their first game of the season, defeating the LA Sparks 78-73
Caitlin Clark had 11 points and 10 rebounds for her first WNBA double-double and Indiana fever beat Los Angeles 78-73 on Friday night to win the season-opening five games against one spark The record crowd of 19,103 people included several Hollywood stars.
“It felt really good for the first time,” said Clark, who also had eight assists.
Kelsey Mitchell leads Indiana (1-5) by 18 points and Aliyah Boston And Temi Fagbenle Each person has 17.
Clark’s rebounds were a career high. She missed her first seven 3-point attempts, but finally made one of her signature deep 3-pointers with 2:27 left in the game, sparking a chorus of cheers and clap. A funny actor Clark and Iowa native Ashton Kutcher are sitting next to each other.
“It was a fellow Hawkeye, someone who was very supportive of me throughout my college career,” she said. “He encouraged me throughout the match.”
The game highlights the youth and future of the WNBA, with No. 1 draft pick Clark taking on the No. 2 pick Cameron Brink and the fourth option Rickea Jackson by Sparks.
“They are making a huge impact in our league,” Fever coach Christie Sides said before the game.
Brink had 15 points and nine rebounds and Jackson added a career-high 16 points off the bench for the Sparks (1-3). Dearica Hamby had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Jason Sudeikis, Rosie O’Donnell, Kathy Griffin, DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls, Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors, USC star JuJu Watkins, along with teammate Rayah Marshall and coach Lindsay Gottlieb, were among the home crowd Tickets were sold out to see the Sparks’ first game at Crypto.com Arena this season.
“The crowd was really great, especially at the end,” Clark said. “They were in it, they were invested.”
After leading by 11 points early in the game, Boston, Fagbenle and Mitchell dominated the fourth quarter, as Mitchell hit consecutive 3-pointers.
Brink made a 3-point shot and Lexie Brown scored to tie the Sparks at 73-71. But Clark answered with his second deep 3-pointer with about 40 seconds left and the crowd cheered again as Indiana took the lead, 76-71.
“I was due, like they had to come on,” said Clark, who was 4-of-14 from the field, 2-of-9 on 3-point attempts. “I missed a lot throughout the game.”
The Fever is just 7/25 from long range; Sparks also struggled, going 5/24.
The Sparks played their first two home games in Long Beach, but when Clark and the Fever were in town, the games were moved to downtown Los Angeles.
Trailing 45-34, the Fever opened the third quarter with a 16-3 run to take a 50-48 lead. Fagbenle and Boston combined to score all of Indiana’s points, with Fagbenle’s 3-pointer cutting the lead. Clark didn’t score, but she did make a big steal at midfield, and after she missed, Boston scored.
“She’s running our offense,” Sides said of Clark. She’s learning her system, learning her players.” “She hit some big shots and did everything we needed her to do.”
The teams meet again Tuesday in Indianapolis.
Associated Press reports.
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