The Caitlin Clark era is off to a raucous start.
In front of a sold-out crowd in Dallas for her first WNBA game, albeit preseason action, Clark was just as impactful as she was the past four years at Iowa (perhaps in part because of all of the familiar Big Ten foes on the court). Although the Indiana Fever lost to the Dallas Wings 79-76, with Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale nailing a go-ahead 3-pointer with three seconds to play, Clark finished with a team-high 21 points and made five 3-pointers.
“I thought we played really hard. Just a great atmosphere for women’s basketball,” Clark said postgame on the Bally Sports broadcast. “I think it’s a good kickoff to the WNBA season.”
Caitlin Clark in her WNBA preseason debut:
◽️ 21 PTS
◽️ 3 REB
◽️ 5 threes🎥 @IndianaFever pic.twitter.com/ZNvuoQN2q8
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 4, 2024
Clark started alongside Erica Wheeler, which allowed the former Iowa star to play both on and off the ball. In her first possession as the de facto point guard, she delivered a pitch-perfect outlet pass to forward NaLyssa Smith the full length of the court. After Smith’s attempt at the rim was blocked, Clark went into shooting guard mode, hitting a deep 3-pointer off the inbounds for her first professional points.
The triples…
