Caitlin Clark delivered the kind of night that changes the shape of a box score and the feel of a game. She poured in a new WNBA career-high 45 points, and the Indiana Fever used that explosion to outlast the Seattle Storm 110-107 in a wild shootout Friday night.
Clark did her damage on 11 of 18 shooting, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range, and she added 10 assists for yet another double-double. Kelsey Mitchell was right there with her, scoring 30 points on 13 of 25 shooting as Indiana improved to 15-10.
The Fever had to do it without Aliyah Boston, who was out with a right lower leg issue. Even so, Indiana came out flying, built a lead as large as 17 points, then watched Seattle claw all the way back before finding enough late offense to finish the job.
Clark’s night kept getting bigger as the game wore on. She reached 200 career made 3-pointers with her second triple of the night, becoming the fastest player in WNBA history to that mark. By halftime, she and Mitchell had already matched each other with 19 points apiece, and the Fever led 59-56 despite Seattle’s strong closing push to the first half.
The Storm weren’t going away. They trimmed the margin, then took control of stretches in the third quarter as Indiana struggled to get stops.
Seattle shot 65% from the field and 53% from 3-point range, and Awa Fam knocked down all four of her 3-point tries in the third quarter alone. By the end of the period, the Storm had outscored the Fever 32-23 to go up 88-82.
Clark answered in the fourth. She had 31 points with 6:34 left, then pushed past her previous WNBA scoring best with a 32-foot step-back 3-pointer that gave her 38 and tied the game at 102 with 1:11 remaining. She hit her sixth 3-pointer of the night moments later to move to 41 points and put Indiana back in front, and the Fever held on from there.
Monique Billings made 1 of 2 free throws with 18.7 seconds left, then Dominique Malonga scored on a driving layup to pull Seattle within one. But Indiana had enough to close it out and secure the 110-107 win.
The Fever return to action Saturday night, when they host the New York Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the second game of a back-to-back. Stephanie White said the expectation is that Clark will be available again, and she will be on another minutes restriction against the Storm.
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The pressure point may be the pass rush, where the numbers could soften a bit from Iowas usual pace even if Kenneth Merrieweather, Iose Epenesa and Kahmari Brown each carve out meaningful roles. The more encouraging sign is in the back end, where Zach Lutmer, Deshaun Lee, Anthony Hawkins and Tyler Brown give Iowa a real chance to climb past last seasons interception total, and if that happens, it could go a long way toward masking any small dip elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]