Former Iowa women's basketball star Caitlin Clark made her WNBA debut with the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, Clark's 20-point debut did not result in a win, as the Fever fell 92-71 after a standout performance from Sun forward Alyssa Thomas. Moreover, Clark's performance ended up on the wrong side of history.
Clark totaled nine turnovers Tuesday night, which broke the WNBA's all-time record for turnovers in a debut game, per Talia Goodman. assists. Her struggle is understandable. After all, it was her first WNBA game and she went against one of the fiercest teams in the league.
The Connecticut Sun entered the 2024 WNBA season after advancing to the 2023 playoff semifinals. The third-seeded Sun lost 3-1 to a talented New York Liberty squad. Nevertheless, Connecticut returned strong in their debut game against the Fever.
2023 MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas picked up right where she left off with an impressive performance. Thomas tallied a triple-double with 13 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds. She was not the only one who gave Clark and the Fever a hard time.
Connecticut received double-digit scoring efforts from four other players. DeWanna Bonner led the team with 20 points, while Dijonai Carrington and Tyasha Harris chipped in 16 a piece. Rachel Banham rounded out the Sun scorers with 10 points.
As for Indiana, Caitlin Clark led the team with 20 points and three assists despite her turnover battle. NaLyssa Smith nearly had a double-double, contributing 13 points and nine rebounds. One of the most shocking performances of the night came from former 2023 first-overall pick Aliyah Boston.
Boston notched just 4 points and six rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Surely, the star center will find her footing alongside Clark as the Fever center a new era.
Fever look to work through kinks to find success in 2024
The Indiana Fever had high hopes when they parked Caitlin Clark with Aliyah Boston and the rest of the team's contributors. Clark had arguably the best college basketball career of all time, and her electric offensive ability looks to elevate the Fever.
Clark broke too many records to count during her four years with the Iowa women's basketball team. Most notably, she eclipsed Kelsey Plum and Pete Maravich's records to become the NCAA's all-time leading scorer. In addition, she passed Diana Taurasi for the most the-pointers in the NCAA Tournament after she went 9 for 20 against LSU in the Elite 8.
The star guard put her offensive prowess on full display the entire season. Clark averaged 31.6 points, 8.9 assists, and 7.4 rebounds per game during the 2023-24 season. Her exceptional deep-range shooting ability has compared her to greats like Sabrina Ionescu and Stephen Curry. Yet, as Tuesday's night Sun matchup showed, her success will not come easy.
If there is one thing Clark will not do though: it is give up. The star will likely get straight to work and improve for the next matchup. Her and the Fever's WNBA battles will not get any easier. Indiana is preparing to take on the championship-runner up New York Liberty on Thursday.
Surely, Clark and her team will be locked in ready to compete.
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