The spotlight Caitlin Clark has occupied for the past year shone brighter than ever in her WNBA debut Tuesday night in Connecticut. Celebrity fans, another sellout crowd and a national television audience expected to rival the NBA Playoffs were all obsessed with the rookie and first overall pick of the Indiana Fever.
For only the first time in recent memory, Clark, who helped bring women’s basketball to the mainstream during her record-setting collegiate career at Iowa, failed to deliver.
She didn’t make any of her trademark half-court three-pointers and failed to make an impact as a playmaker in a 92-71 loss to the Connecticut Sun. Even when things went her way, like when she robbed Connecticut’s DiJonai Carrington midway through the third period, Clark followed up with a bad pass that was easily intercepted by Sun forward Brionna Jones.
Her parents, Brent and Anne Nizzi-Clark, appeared visibly distraught on the Mohegan Sun Arena scoreboard after seeing their daughter whistled for traveling, one of 10 costly turnovers in the game.
Clark’s night was ultimately summed up by an open 3-point attempt that bounced harmlessly off the rim in the game’s final moments, effectively ending any hope of a comeback. In the end, Clark finished with 20 points, but he was just 5 of 15 from the field and finished with just three assists.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts during the first quarter of her WNBA debut.
The day began much more optimistically as the visibly excited 22-year-old grew impatient for the announcement.
“I just want to go out and play,” he laughed during his pre-match press conference, later admitting that “this is definitely one of the best moments of my life.”
And at first glance, the pros seemed as easy as college baseball had been for Clark, who received the greatest crowd response of any player on either team during pregame introductions.
She received the first goal from Aliyah Boston and, after some clever maneuvering around the Sun defense, returned the ball to her teammate for an easy layup and her first assist as a pro.
But Clark’s transition to the WNBA quickly became more difficult over the next few minutes, as she missed her first three shots, committed two controversial fouls, and soon found herself on the bench for all but the final seconds of the first quarter.
And things didn’t get any easier when she returned to the court, largely due to the stifling defense of 6-foot-4 All-Star DeWanna Bonner and her defensive partner DiJonai Carrington, the latter robbing Clark in the middle of the court for an easy fast break layup.
Clark broke through midway through the second when he stole a bad pass, charged up the court and paused briefly at the 3-point arc, causing defenders to stop in their tracks, before continuing toward the basket for a contested layup. .
It may have arrived a little later than she expected, but Clark’s first WNBA basket went as planned.
Caitlin Clark (22) walks down the court after a turnover against the Connecticut Sun
“What I thought was that it would be good to get a layup as my first basket and why not get a high percentage of two?” he rhetorically asked reporters during his pregame press conference.
He would have to wait until the final minute of the first half for his first 3-pointer, and only after missing his first three attempts from beyond the arc, including a look at the logo.
Clark’s impact has already been felt throughout the WNBA, where Fever games have become one of the most popular events in American sports. In fact, Tuesday’s game was the Connecticut Sun’s first sold-out opening night game since 2003, when crowds of fans dressed in Fever and Iowa Hawkeyes gear filled the casino’s 9,000-seat stadium, a venue that averaged just over of 6,000 fans per game last season.
Among those in attendance were New England Patriots players, legendary Connecticut basketball coach Geno Auriemma (who famously didn’t recruit Clark), as well as former Huskies star Jenniffer Rizotti, while the Ying twins Yang provided the halftime entertainment.
Of course, that kind of thing is nothing new for Clark, who has been playing in front of big names and sellout crowds while drawing record television audiences throughout his collegiate career at Iowa.
Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington (21) fouls Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark
And in that sense, it is the WNBA that needs to adapt to Clark, and not the other way around. She and Boston, a former South Carolina star and top draft pick in her own right, have been playing in front of national audiences since they were teenagers, as the WNBA struggled to attract college fans to the pros.
“They’ve been part of those college teams that have that kind of crowd every night,” Fever coach Christie Sides said before the game. “So it’s probably not something very different for them, but in this stadium and for the WNBA to have these full crowds, it’s something we’ve never experienced and it’s very exciting.”
Similarly, last month’s WNBA Draft in Brooklyn was the most watched in league history, and there are other encouraging metrics as well.
For example, more bets were placed on Tuesday’s Fever-Sun opener than any other game in WNBA history, according to BetOnline.ag. What’s more, the total amount bet is expected to exceed that of the Indiana Pacers’ playoff game against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.
Even Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy bet $25,000 on the Fever to cover the eight-point spread against favorite Sun on Tuesday, a bet he would ultimately lose.
Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston turns to shoot as Connecticut’s Brionna Jones defends
Clark led the Fever in scoring on Tuesday, but that was unintentional.
Before the game, she admitted that there is less pressure to score in the WNBA because she is surrounded by such talented teammates. Clark even held out hope that she wouldn’t have to carry the scoring burden like she did at Iowa, where she set the NCAA scoring record.
“I mean, hey, that would be cool,” he said.
“I think during my time in college it was like I had to do that for my team and I think now being at the professional level it’s like seeing how I can impact the game,” he said when asked to explain his transition. since university. I play the professionals.
“Maybe it’s not an assist or it’s not a basket.”
But at the end of Tuesday’s loss, that comment began to feel like wishful thinking.
The Fever, one of the last WNBA champions in recent years, need Clark to score and shoot like she did for the Hawkeyes.