The Caitlin Clark era in the WNBA has officially begun, although it got off to a slow start.
Clark went scoreless for nearly the first 15 minutes, before getting more comfortable and finishing with 20 points in the Indiana Fever’s 92-71 loss to the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night.
She knows she’ll have to play better and has a lot to work on, but also understands that it’s only the first game in her career.
“It was physical and obviously it wasn’t like the best start,” Clark said. “It was just a lot of things to learn from.”
Clark said before the game that she wouldn’t get too caught up on her play in her first game.
“If something isn’t perfect, my life’s not going to end,” she said. “If, you know, we lose the game tonight, my life’s not going to end. I’m just going to learn from it and come back on Thursday and try to help us win.”
One thing that Clark definitely will want to improve on is her turnovers. She had 10 of Indiana’s 25 — many unforced.
“Some uncharacteristic things, like pick the ball up and travel, dribble it off my foot,” she said. “A few things that, you know, you have to be crisper.”
Clark got off to a really slow start as she missed her first four shots before finally getting on the board midway through the second period. The NCAA’s all-time Division I scoring leader stole the ball around the foul line and drove the length of the court before laying the ball in. Clark had said before the game that she thought her first basket would come on a layup since it was a “high-percentage” shot.
Clark later added two free throws and hit a 3-pointer with 29.
