Indiana Fever No. 1 draft picks Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston shared yet another wholesome moment after an 81-74 win over the Minnesota Lynx Sunday at the Target Center. Boston’s 16 rebounds was her new career high, while Clark passed Sue Bird for second in all-time rookie assists.
Clark was asked about the WNBA assist milestone, which she’ll surely surpass, and if jumping to second in Minneapolis added sentimental value. Before Clark answered, Boston chimed in.
“Woo, woo, woo!” Boston said, hyping up the feat. “Heck yeah.”
“Not really,” Clark said. “Probably something I won’t remember. I don’t know, it’s cool. Yep.”
“You are so funny, girl,” Boston quipped.
During Clark’s pregame press conference, she revealed that the Target Center was the venue where she watched the Lynx for her first-ever WNBA game. She obviously has ties to the arena from her collegiate days at Iowa, too. It’s where she won back-to-back Big Ten Tournament titles, and in turn, where she played her last Big Ten game.
Sunday wasn’t the only time this season that Boston has given her trademark woos to praise Clark, while reporters ask questions about milestones and records. It seems like Clark is in contention for every one in the book. And as this season has progressed, Clark and Boston’s chemistry has swelled. They’ve intervened on each other’s behalf in pressers. They laugh often.
Add Sunday as another uplifting moment to the list between them.
Aliyah Boston consistent, Clark more off-and-on in Fever win
Aliyah Boston already secured her double-double by halftime, bringing in 10 rebounds and making five-of-six baskets for 11 points. In the second half, she snagged another six rebounds and made three-of-five shots. In the Fever’s past two games, Boston has totaled 38 points and 29 boards. The game before that, she ran into foul trouble, scoring only six points on four shots.
“I think I was just trying to make sure that I'm able to rebound the ball, be in the best position for my teammates,” Boston said. “I think to start they game, they did a great job of getting me post touches early on and then outside of that, just making sure I rebound and finish my put-backs.”
Clark was held to seven first-half points, shooting 1-for-5 beyond the arc. The lone triple she did hit over her 6-foot-5 defender looked remarkable. Yet overall, Clark was colder Sunday than she has been in the past. Late in the third quarter, and in about 30 seconds, Clark turned the ball over, missed her catch-and-shoot 31-footer, and then was way short on her 28-foot step-back.
“No, I don’t think I was overeager,” Clark said. “I’m just going to take shots that I think are good shots… if they probably went in it would probably be a different story. You probably would have asked me a different question. But I think as a shooter and somebody that needs to score, and something that this team needs, is like, I can’t stop… you got to just continue to play through it.”
Clark missed four threes in the third, with three assists. In the fourth, she went 1-for-2 beyond the arc and added another two assists. As the Fever trailed by seven points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, head coach Christie Sides set up the first play for Clark. She nailed the triple.
Fever rolling as Olympic break approaches
Outside of the mishaps in the brutal loss to the Washington Mystics at home July 10, the Fever have won three of their past four games, all against upper-half teams in the WNBA standings. The Lynx now sit in fourth at 16-8. Sure, the Lynx were without Olympian Napheesa Collier, and the Fever beat the injury-riddled Mercury, but wins are wins. They only had 13 of them last year.
The Fever improved to 11-14 this season with the win and will wrap up July play by visiting the last-place Dallas Wings Wednesday. It’s the perfect opportunity to redeem the loss to the Mystics, enter the Olympic Break winning three straight— and firmly hold playoff contention.
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