Think of the Indiana Fever, and Caitlin Clark comes to mind.
But the No. 1 overall pick in last month’s WNBA draft is still seeking her first win with the Fever, who are set to face the Connecticut Sun on Monday night in Indianapolis.
Indiana (0-3) is off to a rough start, with Clark averaging a team-high 17.0 points through the team’s first three games. She has struggled with ball security, though, committing 7.0 turnovers per contest to start the year.
In easily her most effective shooting performance of the season, Clark scored 22 points, going 9-for-17 from the field, in a 91-80 loss to the host New York Liberty on Saturday. She was also responsible for eight turnovers, coming up two short of the 10 she had against Connecticut (2-0) in Tuesday’s season opener.
“I think I was just more active (on Saturday),” Clark said. “I think I was cutting harder, I was setting up screens harder, got a few backdoor cuts for layups. I think just playing with better pace and that’s kind of a learning thing. It’s not something I always had to do at Iowa.”
Kelsey Mitchell (10.0 points per game) is the only other Fever player with a scoring average in double figures, heightening the importance of Clark improving.
“In the league, everybody’s all over me,” Clark said. “They’re hounding me 94 feet, I’m getting trapped on every ball screen, getting blocked on every stagger screen. So I think it’s just a learning process. And I’m gonna continue to learn from game to game.”
The Sun stand in stark contrast to Indiana — and they have for the better part of the last decade. The Fever haven’t reached the postseason since 2016, the same year Connecticut last missed out on the playoffs, and the Sun have been to the WNBA Finals twice since.
Connecticut boasts a frontcourt core featuring DeWanna Bonner (21.0 points per game), Alyssa Thomas (13.0 ppg, 10.5 rebounds per game, 9.5 assists per game) and Brionna Jones (7.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg), who are together for a fifth season.
Bonner scored 22 points and added six boards and six steals in the Sun’s 84-77 win over the Washington Mystics on Friday. Connecticut needed a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull away.
“I think our chemistry definitely carried us (Friday) because we went back to some things that we were comfortable with from last year, just kind of playing off each other,” Bonner said.
Bonner scored 20 points in the season opener against Indiana, a 92-71 home win by the Sun. Clark had 20 points for the Fever.
–Field Level Media
