Caitlin Clark set a WNBA single-game record with 24 points and 19 assists, but the Indiana Fever lost 101-93 to the Dallas Wings in their final game before the Olympic break.
In a chaotic second half, Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale hit a 3-pointer with 44.6 seconds left to give the Wings a 97-93 lead that proved decisive. Clark turned the game over on the ensuing drive (his fifth of the game), giving Dallas time to wait for Ogunbowale to make a free throw.
Dallas led by 16 before Indiana caught up behind Clark and Aaliyah Boston (28 points, eight rebounds). Six Wings scored in double figures, including Ogunbowale and Odyssey Sims, who both had 24 points.
Indiana didn’t make a 3-pointer through the first 15 minutes on Wednesday, but Clark (who else?) got the team going with the 3-pointers, making her first with 5:19 left in the second quarter. She scored 10 straight points during that stretch and finished with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting in the first half.
The loss put Clark one step closer to tying the WNBA rookie record.
Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, recorded 19 assists on Wednesday and is now 13 away from breaking the league’s rookie assist record, currently held by Ticha Penicheiro, a four-time WNBA All-Star who has played 15 seasons in the WNBA.
Penicheiro set the rookie assist record with the Sacramento Monarchs in 1998, recording 225 assists in 30 games, or 7.5 assists per game. Clark could play 40 games in the 2024 season, and the Fever are on the verge of being a playoff team, meaning Clark will not only break the record, but likely write it.
Clark averaged an incredible 12.5 assists per game during the month of July and led the league in that category in the first half of the season with an average of 8.2 assists in 26 games.
Clark now heads to Phoenix for the All-Star Game, which will take on the 2024 Olympic team on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
It will be the first time since 2014 that two rookies — Clark and Chicago’s Angel Reese, the No. 7 draft pick — will play in the All-Star game. Clark is also scheduled to play in the 3-point shooting contest on Friday.
Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com and follow her on social media. Lindsay Schnell
