When Indiana Fever star and No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark made her WNBA debut four months ago, she turned the ball over 10 times in an ugly 21-point loss to the Connecticut Sun. Her playoff debut against the same opponent on Sunday wasn’t any better, as the Fever lost Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, 93-69.
Clark took care of the ball this time, but finished with just 11 points on 4 of 17 shooting overall, including 2 of 12 from behind the arc, and was left with a black eye after an inadvertent hit to the face in the opening minutes.
“Obviously got me pretty good in the eye,” Clark said. “I don’t think it affected me. I felt like I got good shots, they just didn’t go down. Obviously a tough time for that to happen.”
The Fever were the best offensive team in the league after the Olympics by a wide margin. They boasted a 109.6 offensive rating, made nearly 11 3-pointers per game and had a 58.2 true shooting percentage. Most of that stemmed from Clark’s ability to push the pace and control the game. She averaged 23.1 points and 8.9 assists after the break, as she surged to a fourth-place MVP finish.
Already, Clark has staked her claim as the best guard in the league. But the…
