Caitlin Clark‘s debut as a professional player wasn’t what she or her fans expected, as the Indiana Fever fell 92-71 to the Connecticut Sun. With a nightmare first quarter in which she failed to score and committed two personal fouls, Clark was benched for a good while, watching as her teammates struggled to keep the game close.
As many anticipated, Clark fell victim to rookie nerves against professional players, and it’s understandable given they faced one of the best teams in the WNBA in recent years.
Caitlin Clark played rock, paper, scissors in her WNBA introduction
However, it wasn’t until the second quarter when Caitlin scored her first two points as a professional and gradually found her rhythm, shaking off the initial nerves and settling into the Mohegan Sun Arena court, which boasted a large number of fans not only of the Fever, but also of Caitlin herself.
By the end of the first half, she was encouraged by her teammates heading to the locker room, which helped her have a much better second half, even though she and the Fever entered the third quarter with a 10-point deficit.
Sets an unwanted record
Clark’s second half was much better and at times she showed why she has become one of the most beloved and admired sports figures in the United States, starting to find her rhythm and finishing with a total of 20 points, leading her team in scoring, with only NaLyssa Smith providing good support with 13 points.
But Clark also made serious concentration errors, so in her debut she set a negative record for the most turnovers in a WNBA debut, with 10.
For the Sun, the team was led by DeWanna Bonner, who had 20 points, followed by her teammates Tyasha Harris and Dijonai Carrington, each with 16, and Alyssa Thomas with 13.
Clark finished with stats of 32 minutes played, 5-15 from the field, 4-11 from three-point range, 6-6 from the free-throw line, and four personal fouls. Indiana’s next game will be on Thursday, when they make their home debut against the New York Liberty.