Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever continued their post-Olympics tear Wednesday, as a triple-double from Clark helped Indiana to a 93-86 win over the Los Angeles Sparks. It is the Fever’s fifth win in a row and ninth in the past 11 games.
The favorite to win WNBA Rookie of the Year, Clark on Wednesday was named was named the WNBA Eastern Conference player of the month and rookie of the month for August. Earlier in the week she’d been named Eastern Conference player of the week, too. Clark looked every bit of those labels Wednesday, turning in another terrific stat line with 24 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. She also grabbed three steals (she recorded seven turnovers as well). Clark has been playing especially well since WNBA play resumed after the Paris Olympics.
Clark is the only WNBA rookie to record a triple-double in league history, and now she has two of them. She also had one on July 6 in an upset win over the New York Liberty.
The highlight of the game came in the third quarter, when Clark drove and flicked a nifty behind the back pass to Aliyah Boston, who fired a pass to Erica Wheeler on the perimeter before Wheeler drained a 3 to give Indiana a 66-61 lead.
Boston finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Kelsey Mitchell chipped in 18. The victory over L.A. helps the Fever get a tighter grip on sixth place; they clinched a spot in the playoffs Tuesday night. Clark said pregame Wednesday that she came to Indiana ‘with the expectation that this (going to the playoffs) is what’s going to happen.’
‘This isn’t a party,’ Clark said. ‘I’m not just happy to be in the playoffs. I think we have the type of team that can win and advance.’
Wednesday night kicked off a six-game home stand for Indiana, which opened the 2024 season with a brutally tough schedule. The Fever next host the Minnesota Lynx on Friday.