Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives past Dallas Wings forward Natasha Howard (6) during their WNBA basketball game in Arlington, Texas, on Friday.
Michael Ainsworth/AP
hide caption
caption conversion
Michael Ainsworth/AP
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives past Dallas Wings forward Natasha Howard (6) during their WNBA basketball game in Arlington, Texas, on Friday.
Michael Ainsworth/AP
Caitlin Clark made her WNBA debut with the Indiana Fever on Friday night — and her “impact” shows no signs of waning.
The preseason game against the Dallas Wings was another sellout with passionate fans lining up outside the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, to watch the game NCAA all-time leading scorer playing her first professional match.
“My biggest goal to achieve tonight was to be myself, play fun, aggressive basketball,” Clark said Friday in a post-game news conference. I think that’s what I did.”
Similar to his time at the University of Iowa, Clark shined Friday on the court – scoring 21 points with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, despite it being a loss. The Wings won 79-76.
Fever head coach Christie Sides praised Clark’s performance but noted that the rookie star and the rest of the team are still in the adjustment phase.
“We’re still getting to know each other,” Sides said Friday at a news conference.
Sides noted that during the first quarter, Clark appeared tired. The head coach said she hopes Clark will lean on her teammates in the future.
Clark was asked what the biggest difference is between professional basketball and college basketball.
“Everyone is physically superhuman, it’s not always what it’s called,” she said. I would say that’s the biggest thing.”
Clark’s debut in a regular season game will be against the Connecticut Sun on May 14.
“It’s a huge milestone for someone who always dreamed of playing in the WNBA,” Clark said.
