By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — The Caitlin Clark era in the WNBA has officially begun, although it got off to a slow start.
Clark struggled early in her WNBA debut before finishing with 20 points and 10 turnovers as the Indiana Fever fell to the Connecticut Sun, 92-71, on Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Alyssa Thomas led the Sun with 13 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, registering the 12th triple-double of her career. DeWanna Bonner added 20 points and DiJonai Carrington had 16. Carrington also was a major reason for Clark’s early offensive struggles, hounding the guard.
“Disappointed and nobody likes to lose, that’s how it is,” said Clark, whose turnovers were the most in a career debut in WNBA history. “Can’t beat yourself up too much about one game.”
Clark knows she’ll have to play better and has a lot to work on, but she 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.”
The NCAA’s all-time Division I scoring leader, who finished the game 5 for 15 from the field, went scoreless in the first quarter. The No. 1 pick in last month’s WNBA draft missed her first four shots before finally getting on the board midway through the second period.
Clark stole the ball around the foul line and drove the length of the court before laying the ball in. She later added two free throws and made a 3-point shot with 29.9 seconds left in the first half to finish the opening 20 minutes with seven points, hitting two of her seven shot attempts. The Fever trailed 49-39 at the break.
The Fever got within 63-57 late in the third quarter on two free throws by Clark, but couldn’t get closer the rest of the way.
Clark did start heating up from the field, hitting four 3-pointers, including one from long range. She finished 4 for 11 from behind the arc and added three assists and two steals.
“Caitlin was able to get her some looks, able to knock them down. our spacing was not great,” Indiana coach Christie Sides said. “Connecticut came in and punched us in the mouth tonight. We’ll be in the gym tomorrow watching a lot of video trying to figure out how not to turn the ball over 25 times.”
Carrington, a fourth-year guard out of Stanford and Baylor, drew the primary assignment on Clark and locked her down most of the evening. Carrington held Clark to 2-of-10 shooting and forced eight turnovers when she was the primary defender. Thomas, a perennial WNBA Defensive Player of the Year candidate, bothered Clark at times, too, and drew several fouls on the rookie. Still, many of Clark’s turnovers were 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 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.”
Before the game, Clark admitted she was eager for her pro debut. She sat around most of the day at the hotel and had to wait to get on the court when her team arrived nearly 2½ hours before tipoff.
“I just want to get out there and play,” she said. “I got plenty of time to sit and think about it. Still this is exciting. This is fun. … There’s just a different buzz in the air.”
Even before playing a WNBA game, Clark has left her mark in the pros. The league’s draft had record viewership, and her No. 22 Indiana Fever jerseys have been flying off the shelves. There were hundreds of fans walking around the arena in Clark jerseys and T-shirts.
Three WNBA teams have already moved their games to bigger arenas to keep up with the demand for tickets to watch her play. Her debut in Connecticut was the first sellout for the Sun in a season opener since they played their inaugural game at Mohegan Sun Arena in 2003 after moving from Orlando.
The game had the bustle and energy of a playoff or Finals game. Fans donning Sun, Fever and even Iowa gear lined up to get into the arena more than 2½ hours before the tip. ɫ̳ handed out more than 170 credentials for media (nearly four times the normal amount), with ESPN’s “WNBA Countdown” desk stationed near the Fever bench and overflow media coming from near and far situated in a skybox.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma was among those in attendance.
“This is like a freakin’ Taylor Swift concert,” he said as security led him through the back of the arena and out to his seat.
This was the second sold-out crowd Clark has played in front of in her extremely young WNBA career. Her preseason game in Dallas was sold out, too. More than 13,000 fans also turned up for her only home preseason game.
Clark’s home debut will be Thursday, when the Fever host the New York Liberty.
“Our preseason game was tremendous, doing it for real is going to be a lot of fun; it’s going to be loud,” Clark said. “Use the environment to our advantage.”
The Fever – who are hoping to end the league’s longest active playoff drought at seven seasons – have lost their opening game in 10 of the past 11 seasons, with their only win coming in 2019.
MOVING ON UP
Bonner moved into fifth on the WNBA’s career scoring list, moving ahead of former Phoenix Mercury teammate Candice Dupree. who finished her career with 6,895 points. Bonner passed Dupree on a layup midway through the third quarter.
“To do it here on this night with this team and this group and this crowd made it more special,” Bonner said. “It was huge and goal of mine i can check off my list. to be in this league is hard, to stay in this league is harder. To be part of that list is amazing. pat myself on the back for that one.”
Bonner, who now has 6,901 points, raised her hands to the crowd after a timeout to acknowledge the accomplishment.
RETURN OF BRIONNA
Brionna Jones played for the first time since rupturing her right Achilles tendon last June. ɫ̳’s All-Star center had eight points while playing just under 20 minutes.
“We certainly missed her and it put a smile on my face to see her out there again,” Connecticut coach Stephanie White said.
GOOD COMPANY
Clark’s 10 turnovers are the most by an WNBA player in four years, according to Sports Reference.
She’s among only 13 players in the league’s 27-year history with a double-digit turnover game.
Clark shouldn’t take that to heart. WNBA greats Diana Taurasi, Chamique Holdsclaw and Becky Hammon also are on the list.
