Caitlin Clark delighted young fans in Minnesota by tossing her sneakers into the stands as she left the court.
Clark scored 17 points in an 81-74 win over the defending Commissioner’s Cup champion Lynx on Sunday, a homecoming of sorts for the Iowa-born WNBA superstar.
Win on Sunday. Fever/X
The first overall pick in this year’s draft spotted a young girl holding up her Clark University jersey with the No. 22 on it over the railing, trying to get her attention, then walked off the court as an enthusiastic crowd looked on.
Clark, who had already taken off his sneakers, saw the girl and walked over to her and tossed her his shoes.
As the camera panned to the fans, she was seen beaming with excitement at the fact that Clark had made the effort to throw the shoes to her.
The Fever took advantage of a depleted Lynx team that suffered a brutal 30-point loss to the Storm earlier this week and had to play Sunday’s game without star player Napheesa Collier.
Indiana also had the opportunity to play in front of a very supportive crowd that came out to see Clark.
At one point late in the game, Clark was fouled and walked to the foul line, where he applauded the crowd, urging them to get louder.
Clark made just 5 of 17 field goals and had six assists, but he lost the ball six times.
She also was assessed a technical foul for punching the Lynx’s Cecilia Zandarasini in the face after being fouled in the third quarter.
Fever wins on Sunday. Fever/X
As if the quasi-homecoming wasn’t enough for Clark, the game also came against a team led by the same man who will coach the U.S. women’s basketball team in the upcoming Olympics.
Controversy ensued when some felt Clark had been left off the Olympic roster, with Lynx and national team coach Cheryl Reeve sneering at questions about her future with the national team. Downplaying Clark’s influence Regarding attendance numbers ahead of Sunday’s game.
