Caitlin Clark is enjoying the kind of professional success many envisioned after her dominant performance in the NCAAs last year, and she seems especially rejuvenated after a month-long Olympic break. In Friday’s 98-89 win over the Mercury, Clark recorded 29 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in front of a rapt Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd.
Clark didn’t do it alone. The Fever’s two other All-Stars also contributed to the win: Kelsey Mitchell scored 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting, and Aaliyah Boston had 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Mercury head coach Eric Thibault praised the Fever backcourt after the game.
“Kaitlyn is an unbelievable passer and Kelsey has a great shot,” Thibault said.
Clark’s performance made her WNBA She recorded 50 points and 25 assists in two games, the most ever, and in her final game before the Olympic break she recorded 24 points and 19 assists.
The Mercury fell just short of a second-half comeback.
The Fever started well, leading by 19 points in the first quarter and extending that lead to 28 points in the second quarter. Phoenix was playing on the second day of a back-to-back and looked a little lackluster to begin the game.
“I thought we came out of the game with a lot of energy,” Clark said after the game. “We could have collapsed but we kept battling and I thought it was a really good game for us.”
The Mercury built a 25-7 lead at the half and led by one point going into the third quarter, but the Fever rallied back with a 12-3 run by the end of the third quarter, capped off by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Katie Lou Samuelson.
“I was disappointed with how we played in the first half,” said Mercury guard Natasha Cloud, who finished with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. “It is what it is. We didn’t play our best. We played better in the second half, but it wasn’t enough. We just have to stay focused.”
For Phoenix, Kaahliah Copper led the team with 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Copper, the second-leading scorer in the WNBA this season, was most productive at the free throw line, making 18 of 19 attempts.
Diana Taurasi added 16 points, four rebounds and three assists for Phoenix, but every time the Mercury attacked, the Fever held on.
Cloud cut the lead to six with a pull-up jumper with 6:32 left, but Mitchell answered with a 3-pointer. Later in the game, Copper cut Indiana’s lead to six again with a 3-pointer with 2:21 left, but Fever guard Lexie Hull answered with a 3-pointer.
For the Mercuries, the game served as a reminder that in a talent-rich league like the WNBA, you can’t always overcome a low-energy start.
“We can’t dig this hole for ourselves,” Thibaut said after the game.
For Caitlin Clark, the basketball hot streak continues
Friday’s game marked Clark’s ninth game this season with 20-plus points, five-plus rebounds and five-plus assists, the second-most in a single season by a player in WNBA history, including rookies.
Caitlin Clark is averaging 17.1 points and 8.2 assists per game this season, but those numbers are trending upwards, and she is averaging 23 points and 12.3 assists over her past six games.
With the win, the Fever improves to 12-15 on the season and moves into seventh place overall. Indiana started the season 1-8 but is 11-7 in their last 18 games and appears to be more coordinated on both ends of the court.
Next up, Indiana will host the Storm on Sunday, while the Mercury will return home to take on the Sky.
