Sept. 16 (UPI) — Caitlin Clark drained 3-pointers from all around the court and scored 13 of her career-high 35 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Indiana Fever past the Dallas Wings, while setting another WNBA rookie scoring record.
Clark made 10 of 22 shots, including six 3-pointers, in the 110-109 triumph Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. She also registered eight assists, three steals and two rebounds.
“Once I had that first three go in and then a few after that, my shot felt pretty good and honestly, I feel like I should have made eight,” Clark told reporters.
“I got a couple tough rolls. I just seem to not be able to get over the hump of really getting hot.”
With her 35-point effort, Clark pushed her season total to 761 and passed WNBA legend Seimone Augustus’ former record mark (744 in 2006) for the most points scored by a rookie in a single season.
“I was always a fan of her game and the way she could shoot and score the ball so, like I said, it’s definitely full-circle,” Clark said of Augustus.
The Wings edged the Fever 54-32 in points in the pain and 20-2 in points off fast breaks. They also outshot the Fever 56.8% to 50% and held a 33-26 edge in rebounding. The Fever bested their foes 16-11 in made 3-pointers and logged nine turnovers, compared to the Wings’ 13.
Forwards Satou Sabally and Natasha Howard, center Teaira McCowan and guard Arike Ogunbowale scored eight points apiece in the first quarter, helping the Wings outscore the Fever 34-26 early on.
Clark scored the Fever’s first 11 points of the second quarter and aided a 10-2 run to cut into the deficit. Clark and fellow Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell scored 12 points apiece in the frame, but the Fever still trailed 59-57 at halftime.
Mitchell scored another 12 points in the third, when the Fever outscored the Wings 27-24. The Wings tied the score early in the fourth, but never regained the lead. Clark made 4 of 6 shots, including two 3-pointers, and 3 of 3 free throw attempts over the final 10 minutes to seal the victory.
Mitchell made 12 of 21 attempts, including 6 of 12 3-point attempts, for 30 points for the Fever. Fever center Aliyah Boston chipped in 15 points, six assists and six rebounds.
Sabally and Ogunbowale scored 27 points apiece in the loss. Howard logged 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Wings.
Clark’s 761 points this season are the 14th most in a single season for any WNBA player. Mitchell, who has 763 points this season, sits at No. 13 on that list.
Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson, who has 1,000 points this season, tops the list. She is a heavy favorite to claim WNBA MVP honors for the third time of her decorated career.
On Friday, Clark also set the WNBA’s single-season assists mark. She is now up to 329 this season, 13 more than second-place Alyssa Thomas.
Clark ranks third for the most made 3-pointers (120) and first for the most 3-point attempts (352) in a single season. She also has a league-record 220 turnovers.
The Fever (20-19) will face the Washington Mystics (13-25) in their regular-season finale at 7 p.m. EDT Thursday in Washington. They are locked in as the No. 6 seed in the WNBA playoffs and are on track to face the Connecticut Sun (27-11) in the first round.
“We aren’t just happy to be there,” Clark said of the Fever in the playoffs. “We really believe and feel like we can compete with every single team that is going to be in the playoffs.”